sunlight in an hourglass
by bonewishes
Summary: Gon and Mei Freecss are a lovely and innocent pair, beloved and full of love. They say you can catch the sunbeams of their smiles in a bottle and keep them close for luck. But remember, they are their father's children and the Island can only hold them for so long until it's too small for their growing bones and wild spirits. [semi-si!oc]
1. prologue

**Title:** sunlight in an hourglass

 **Summary:** Gon and Mei Freecss are a lovely and innocent pair, beloved and full of love. They say you can catch the sunbeams of their smiles in a bottle, keep them close for luck. But remember, they are their father's children and the Island can only hold them for so long until it's too small for their growing bones.

 **Rating:** T

 **Disclaimer:** ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

 **Warnings:** This is an OC fic so if that's not your thing turn back now, but other than that it's an okay chapter.

 _. . ._

* * *

 _ **Prolouge**_

 _begin at the beginning_

* * *

. .

Ging shows up when everyone least expected it, knocking on Grandmother Abe's door in the middle of monsoon rains like it was the storm that finally carried him home after eight long years of being gone. Mito drops a plate in her shock, the shattering of porcelain falling deaf to her ears when she takes in her cousin's appearance. She almost doesn't recognize him, eight years of doing whatever he's been doing have shaped him into something different, but the fire in his eyes is still the same, almost like he never left.

She walks out of the kitchen and into the living room where Ging is dripping water onto the floor, ready to unleash her anger on him and ask him why, why, _why_ did he come back and why now of all times?

That's what Mito plans to do, has her hands on her hips and lips posed in a frown, but has to stop and do a doubletake when she finally gets a good look at Ging. He's soaked to the bone and has a child in his arms and another clutching at his pant leg, face buried in the fabric. She's about to ask where he got the children from when she catches sight of identical honeyed amber eyes and dark hair and she _knows_.

"Where's their mother, Ging?" Mito asks instead, voice quieter than what she'd normally use around bullhead of a cousin, but she doesn't want to alarm the children.

Ging doesn't answer immediately, of course, rather he leans down just enough to lift the child that's clutching at his leg into his free arm. It's a practiced and easy motion, like he spends most of his day toting around twins.

"Me and their mom are separated." Ging says, all easy like he's given this answer more than once before.

It makes Mito wonder what type of relationship they had for the woman to leave twins with Ging. Or maybe it wasn't really a relationship to begin with, and that's why there was no problem with handing them over. Mito isn't sure which outcome is better or worse.

"And their names." Mito prompts, because Ging probably isn't going to mention them outright at this rate.

"This is Gon, he's the oldest." Gon blinks at the mention of his name, he's been looking around wide eyed this entire time like he's trying to figure out what's going on, a childish curiosity that's endearing. "And this is Mei." Mei looks half asleep, head resting on Ging's shoulder and eyes half-lidded, getting here must have tuckered her out.

Mito doesn't miss the fact that Ging says their names with a bit of pride lacing his voice, like a real father should. It makes her smile just a bit, already fond of the children herself. Makes her wonder if these two will be the ones to finally bring Ging completely home and keep him here.

Grandmother Abe walks down the stairs with more vigor than her old age should allow, her presence keeping Mito from saying anything more. "I have a bath set and extra clothes laid out for you all." She says to Ging. "Go and get yourself and the little ones warmed up before either of you all catch a cold."

"Thanks." Ging huffs right away and heads up the stairs towards the bathroom.

Mito sighs to herself once he's out of sight, more questions rolling on her tongue than she had when she first saw him. But those can wait, she decides, since her cousin brought home children and they're the priority for her now.

She cleans up the shattered plate and cooks up some porridge that was supposed to be for breakfast in the morning, but doesn't mind fixing it this late. It'll be a nice, warm meal for the kids that'll stick to their ribs and make getting them to sleep easier.

Ging comes down the stairs with the twins following behind him like matching ducklings, all three of them dark-haired and bronze skinned, bringing in the smell of lavender soap. The porridge is done and still hot, made with milk and sweetened with honey. Grandmother Abe has just finished up her second cup of tea and is onto her third and Mito has just started her first.

They converge in the living room for the sake of kids who can't sit at the table properly. The twins seem excited about the idea of eating this late at night and chirp their _thank yous_ once they get their small bowls, tongues tumbling slightly over the Island's rolling language. Ging sits between them on the couch, probably to monitor so they don't make messes or fall over. Mito finds it oddly endearing when Ging sets down his own bowl to tie Mei's hair of tumbling curls into a braid out of her face.

"Your Aunt Mito made that, it'd be a shame if you got your hair all in it." Ging says by way of explanation, gently flicking the end of his daughter's braid.

A look of understanding lights up Mei's face and she nods, throwing a wide smile directly at Mito, before consuming the food in her bowl with as much gusto as her brother.

One would think Ging didn't even feed the kids with how they attack their meals, but Mito's babysat kids their age before and knows how much they can pack in their small tummies even when they're full to bursting. They have Freecss genes too and if there's one thing Mito knows about Ging, is that he can eat someone out of house and home if they're not careful, so there's no way his kids have ever gone hungry.

It doesn't take long for their tiny bowls to be scrapped clean and for the two of them to both chirps for seconds, but Ging just sighs and tells them it's time to clean their faces and go to bed. He lifts them both up with ease despite their wiggling and protesting, and when Gon yawns his sister follows right after and they seem to give up the fight before it even really began. Ging trudges back up the stairs, arms full of sleepy children and Mito cleans up the dishes in the time it takes for him to come back down.

"So how old are they Ging?" Grandmother Abe asks once everything is cleaned up and the three oldest people in the house are seated at the kitchen table.

"They're both two." Ging answers, absentmindedly scratching at his chin. "Birthday's May fifth and Gon was born twenty minutes earlier than Mei."

"They're so young." Mito says, like she isn't just thirteen herself. "Have you been traveling around with them while you do whatever it is you do? It can't be healthy for them."

"I have but it's not like I take them everywhere with me, just from town to town. I usually leave them with someone while I do my own work."

That does little to satisfy Mito, if anything, it makes her a little angrier at her cousin, knowing that the kids, this young, are dropped off from stranger to stranger when it should be their father occupying most of their time. It can't be safe either, no matter how much Ging trusts whoever he leaves them with.

"That's why I came back actually." Ging starts again, turns his attention on Grandmother Abe. "I need you to babysit them for a while. I have a big job coming up and I can't take the time to watch them and I doubt I'll find someone else to keep an eye on them for more than week."

Mito frowns, she should have known Ging wasn't here to say hi or catch up with his remaining family or introduce them to the two new additions to his life.

"Why can't you just cancel the job and spend some time with your children?" She asks, trying to keep a lock on her rising temper.

"Because, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for my career, and I can't pass that up."

"So your job's more important than your kids?" Mito snaps immediately after, but reminds herself to keep her voice low so the kids won't wake up and hear. This is not a conversation they should be privy to.

Ging doesn't give her an answer and she knows it's because she won't like whatever it is that leaves his mouth. Mito's emotional at thirteen and feels a strong surge of protectiveness and love for the children she's known for less than an hour. They're family, so of course she does. Not even family is strong enough to tie Ging down, though. Mito knows this better than anyone on Whale Island, but she doesn't want these children to grow up like she did, always watch Ging walk away and wondering if they're holding him back or not.

"Grandmother Abe is not going to watch Gon and Mei." Mito says firmly, hands gripping the fabric of her skirt as she makes a decision she swears to herself is for the better. "Since you have no interest in properly raising them, I'll take custody."

Mito keeps her gaze steady and unwavering, daring Ging to defend himself and prove her wrong, tell her that he's better suited at raising twins while he travels the world. He loves his kids, that much she can tell already, but whatever it is about being a Hunter makes him love that just a little bit more, and they both know that.

That's why it's so easy for him to say "Alright, okay Mito, you can take care of them." with only a shrug of his shoulder as a reaction.

. .

* * *

. .

Mito feels like court proceedings shouldn't be this easy, especially not about the custody of children. It must help that Ging has a Hunter's Licenses and isn't putting up much of a fight, no fight really, everyone knows his constant traveling and dangerous work makes him more unsuitable for child rearing.

She's the one that proposes giving him visitation time, the weekends and holidays and the week of the twins' birthday if he's able. Mito isn't cruel enough to bar him seeing his children completely. No one can say she kept Ging away from family, even though they all know he probably won't take the time to see them, not when he didn't even come by for the funeral of his own blood kin.

Everything takes two weeks to get in order and Ging spends most of that time in the forest, while Mito spends time having the kids warm up to her. They take to her immediately, always by her side and interested in whatever she's doing even though they don't fully understand everything. Gon never seems to run out of questions, and Mei is always finding something new poke and prod at. It reminds Mito that she's going to have to toddler proof the house and look into teaching them a few basic things before they have to start homeschooling, probably just writing and how to speak Common along with refining their Whale Island vocabulary.

It reminds Mito that she's as good as their new mother now and that spikes her with anxiety because she's thirteen and not even close to married yet. At least Grandmother Abe is around to help if things get too difficult.

The day Ging leaves, the twins don't even cry, like they're already used to their father leaving them behind with people. It makes Mito sad and frustrated at Ging and glad that she agreed to raise them. Travelling is all well and good, but no child should be used to it before they can even form completely coherent sentences. They need stability to properly flourish.

When the twins have their arms tight around Ging's neck in the last hug he'll ever give them in who knows how long, Mei places a sloppy kiss on his scruffy face and Gon mimics it just because he can and because he loves his father just as much. Mito gets special pleasure in knowing she's probably the only person that gets to see Ging Freecss getting embarrassed because his kids decided to dote on him on last time.

When he's half out the door, he turns back and says something about mailing stuff for the kids to have when they're older. Mito rolls her eyes and knows it can't be good. There are final goodbyes and well wishes and _be safes_ and _be goods_ and Ging walks down the hill and leaves their lives once more.

 _. . ._

* * *

 _ **prolouge**_

 _"_ _Begin at the beginning," the King said, very gravely, "and go on till you come to the end: then stop."_

* * *

 _. . ._

 **A/N:**

Nothing going on much with this chapter because I wanted to kind of explore Mito a bit since I think it's really amazing that she decided to take Gon at 13 and I wanna make her important and involved as I can before things hit canon territory. I also wanted to establish the fact that Ging loves his kids, he is just not suited to take care of them which of course is important to things!

Even though this fic is still in the major planning process, I wanted to get this chapter out since I'm super excited about it because I love twin fics and family feels and doting brothers and sister so prepare for a lot of that.

If you wanna a feel of how this story is going to end up listen to the song _Lucie, Too_ by _Now Now_ which I think is the perfect song for Mei.

This is my first HxH fic and will be my first SI!OC story (good job me picking a series that isn't complete) so reviews in the form of constructive criticism, suggestions, and whatever you're thinking about the fic are 100% appreciated!


	2. chapter one

**Rating:** T (just to be safe so far)

 **Warning(s):** None that I can think of to be honest?

 **A/N:**

Oh wow look at that, another chapter already. I actually have all the way up to half of chapter 3 written and a vague outline of what i want to happen up until the Hunter Exam and when everyone has to go through that maze. I never really have concrete stuff planned because me changing my mind while writing happens a lot! I'm going to try to stay ahead with this fic so people can get regular updates but we'll see. We'll see.

Anyways, thank you so much for the feedback I've gotten so far and if there's anything that makes me feel like writing it's getting reviews and whatnot since I don't feel like I'm writing to a void.

Also we do a bit of time skipping in this chapter so keep an eye on that.

 **Ages 3-6**

 **. . .**

* * *

 _ **chapter 1**_

 _time well spent_

* * *

. .

It doesn't take long for the small population of Whale Island to know about Ging's children and how Mito has decided to raise them like her own. How amazing of her, to become a mother at thirteen for the children of her wandering cousin. The older women of the island stop by the house on the hill often, trading tips and giving advice and gifts, marveling at how the young Mito can seem to balance homework and keeping an eye on the pair of twins who find it difficult to sit still for more than a few minutes.

Mito learns quickly enough that it's best to give the children an active task, at least for Gon it is. Mei doesn't seem to have as much of a problem sitting down and doing one thing for at least an hour, it's just that she follows her brother everywhere, tiny hands clasped together so often, that Gon sometimes sticks Mei's thumb in his mouth thinking it's his own. It's cute enough for Mito to pull the dusty polaroid camera out of the closet and use it more often, capturing moments that Ging is a fool for leaving behind.

By the twin's third birthday, Mito thinks she's got the nuances of them pretty much figured out.

Gon is always the one leading their tiny parade of two, never staying in one place for too long and always trying to bolt out the door without anyone knowing. If he can't leave or find anything new to do, he'll just try to help with something, always underfoot in the kitchen with his sister two paces behind. Gon isn't quite interested in the meager school lessons they've had so far, growing bored and antsy less than five minutes in, but he catches on to things quick enough if they're explained in a certain way, and even faster if Mito uses pictures along with her words.

Mei's the same as her brother and just as different. Though she follows him everywhere, she isn't afraid to let him know when she doesn't want to move, process done by a simple _no_ and a staring contest that lasts all of three seconds before Gon plops down right next to her, staying still because he'd rather be the with her than off on his own. Mei's just as curious as Gon is, always asking Mito or Grandmother Abe questions about every new thing she sees. She takes to lessons the easiest, actually seems to enjoy sitting around as long as there's learning taking place, though she tends to kick her feet when the sitting has become too much. Mito learns to use that as a signal to know when to let the children run off on their own.

Grandmother Abe lets the twins help out in the garden when things need picking and watering, allowing them pretty much free reign of the backyard as long as their small tasks are finished. Mito learns the most efficient way to scrub dirt and grass stains out of clothes and how to mend rips and tears in pants and stockings. This is around the time the twins learn that Mei's tangled mess of hair is good for hiding things, and Mito nearly screams when a lizard comes crawling out of it during bath time one night.

No one in the house is surprised the next day when Mito grabs the scissors and cuts Mei's hair to manageable length right above her shoulders and makes the child keep her hair in a ponytail when she goes outside to play.

When Mito takes them out to the river one day because she has fishing to do, she isn't too shocked when the twins take to the water immediately like little tadpoles, already knowing the basics of swimming and knowing to stay where their feet can touch the bottom. It must have been something that Ging took the time to teach them on days when he could spare them some proper interactions outside of work.

Mito tries not to think of Ging that often if she can help it. It's a hard task when she sees his kids every day and gets reminded that his home is no longer Whale Island, not really anyway. She catches echoes of her cousin in subtle actions of the twins, like whenever Gon laughs or when Mei looks pleased with herself after accomplishing something new.

The kids don't even ask after their father no matter how much time passes, so Mito takes it upon herself to ignore the sudden urge to ask if they miss him. They might not ask after him, but they did start crying after the third night Ging left, fat tears rolling down their faces, mouths unable to explain what was causing their grief. It had Mito ready to cry herself when she couldn't console them.

They don't seem to remember that night though, pushed to the back of their minds in favor of different things.

Call Mito selfish, but she's afraid of the answer the twins will give if it turns out that they do miss Ging. She's afraid that they'll miss him more than they enjoy it here, and will ache for his return only to realize the chances of him coming back are slim.

That's a harsh reality she doesn't want them to realize, at least not this young and with so little understanding of adults and the world around them.

. . .

* * *

. .

Mei wakes up one day to the insistent shaking of her shoulder and proceeds to bury her face deeper under the pillow and into the mattress like she always does when she doesn't want to be woken up just yet.

"Meeeeeiiiiiii." Gon's whining is persistent and familiar and Mei automatically tenses herself because she knows what to expect when Gon flops all his weight on her to help his efforts. "Mei, wake up!"

She's fully awake now, so there's no point in feigning sleep. Mei wiggles around enough to remove herself from under brother's weight, and sits up across from him on their shared bed, heel of her palm rubbing sleep out of her eyes.

"G'morning." She mutters softly before yawning behind her hand.

Though both children don't mind being up during early hours, it's Mei who takes the longest to become fully functioning. Gon's usually the one up first and prompting his sister to get out of bed so breakfast doesn't get cold. If he left it up to Mei, she'd just stay in bed forever and they can't have that, every moment is precious.

"Good morning! Happy birthday!" Gon chirps, more coherent than his sister, and wraps his arms tight around her middle and places a kiss on her cheek with so much exuberance that it topples them both over.

"Happy birthday!" Mei echoes, a stream of giggles following the words as she returns the kiss with one to his forehead.

She hugs her brother back and finds herself comfortable enough to go back to sleep, but Gon won't allow that, not when he's succeeded in waking her up in the first place. They're newly four and there has been a promise to do amazing things today, they have no time to waste by staying in bed.

Gon hops out of bed easily, grabbing onto Mei's hand, and pulling her down once his feet are steady on the floor.

"Granny Abe said we'd go hiking today and she'd teach us fishing at the lake!" He exclaims, excitement barely contained as he pushes his sister towards their shared dresser.

Mei hums, excited about it too, but probably not as much as her brother is, because when Gon's excited about something, everyone can tell. Their forest treks are usually with Aunt Mito and those only last until they get to the river not too far away from the beginning of the path near their house. The river is fun to swim and explore in, but they've already seen all the animals it has to offer and Aunt Mito doesn't like the idea of them leaving the bank or climbing the nearby trees even though it's _super_ easy for them.

She loves Aunt Mito with all the pieces of her heart, but Granny Abe usually has so many interesting stories to tell and they don't hang out with her outside the house or garden very often, something about being too old to make the really long walks every day, so spending time with her in a new place is always a treat.

Mei picks her outfit after five minutes of careful consideration, a pair of Gon's pants and a loose shirt that'll keep her cool and protected from bug bites. At least that's what Aunt Mito said it would do, Mei's only ever worn it once before and that was when they had a guest coming over for dinner and all her other shirts were dirty because Gon wanted to wear her clothes that week too.

"I wanna brush Mei's hair!" Gon states more than actually asks once he's noticed that his sister is all dressed.

Mei places herself back on the bed after handing Gon the brush, back facing away from him. Gon takes more pleasure in brushing Mei's hair than she does herself, something he said about liking how the curls bounced and how soft her hair is, especially after they take a bath. It's a task he picked up a few months ago and is getting better at with Aunt Mito's careful instructions and suggestions, he doesn't snag tangles as much anymore so Mei isn't as apprehensive about letting him do it, at least not in the same way she was when he first started brushing.

"Gon! Mei! Come down and eat your breakfast!" Aunt Mito's voice drifts up the stairs a couple minutes later and Gon deems the morning grooming done immediately after.

Gon's the first to hop off the bed, leaving the brush where he sat. Mei follows right after, trailing behind her brother as he walks down the stairs and to the table. Both twins stop at what they see, eyes wide and surprised at the sight of all their favorite breakfast foods laid out on the table.

"Thanks, Aunt Mito!" they chirp in tandem, quick to pull their chairs out and sit at the table with the adults.

"It's no trouble you two." Mito says, smile on her face. "Grandmother Abe told me what she had planned for you two today, so I figured it'd be best to have a big breakfast for lots of energy."

Though impatient and ready to taste the meal laid out in front of them, it only takes a simple glimpse at Granny Abe's closed eyes and bowed head to remind the children to give thanks for their food. It's something they do at every meal because every dish that's served comes from Whale Island's own resources, so it only makes sense to thank nature for giving them enough to eat and not go hungry no matter how bad the weather gets.

Once prayer is done, the twins are quick to dive into the different foods spread out on the table. They've gotten better at eating without making messes and asking for someone to pass the food rather than reaching over each other to get it themselves. Mito's almost worried she didn't make enough with how fast the food is disappearing before she has to remind herself that this is natural, and will only grow worse once they get older and hit puberty, but that's a long ways off so she isn't _that_ worried about it. Though it wouldn't hurt to at least start teaching them how to make the bread and jams they seem to love so much if only for the fact that it'll mean she'll have extra hands in the kitchen when a particularly large meal needs to be made.

Once the food is done and dishes cleaned, Granny Abe walks back into her room for a second and emerges with two fishing poles, a little big for the twins, but kids grow like weeds anyway.

Gon seems the most excited about it, rushes up and kisses Granny Abe on the cheek before admiring his new fishing pole, stars dancing in his eyes. Mei is more subdued in her excitement, but no one can miss the smile that stretches her cheeks and forms dimples at the corners of her mouth.

It's the palpable excitement that Gon exudes that makes something stir at the back of Mei's mind. For an instant, she sees the face of what might be a slightly older Gon superimposed over his younger self, excitement and smile just the same, his skin a warmer brown and more freckles dotting across his nose.

She blinks, a headache suddenly blooming across her mind, and a bone deep realization that Gon will one day leave and that's a frightening thought.

"Are you alright, Mei?" Granny Abe's voice is old, but the hand she places on Mei's shoulder is grounding and warm.

"I'm okay," Mei answers, a little unsure about that herself. "a small headache, guess I ate too fast."

The elder nods, looks convinced enough that the worry lines that creased her wrinkled brow go away, and she moves on to check on Gon.

Mei takes a deep breath and blinks a few times, forcing the images and thoughts away to focus on the fact that today is supposed to be a good day.

It probably isn't important enough to worry about anyway.

. .

* * *

. .

While Granny Abe walks them through the forest, she is a well of stories and information. The walk normally takes less than thirty minutes, but they take longer because they're children and are learning about the world around them. Granny Abe stops often, points out plants and animals and can name the type of bird based on its song alone. The twins absorb this information easily, with eyes wide and enchanted.

It's magical, the fact that more nature takes up the island than actual people.

Mei shows an immediate interest in the brightly colored flowers that droop from green stems and Gon asks hundreds of questions about the creatures that lurk deeper in the greenery. Granny Abe answers the questions as best as she can, promising the two that they can make a trip out to town to get books pertaining to their interests if they'd like.

The lake reflects the noonday sun when they finally get there, sunshine glimmering off the blue surface and making it seem like something pluck straight out the fairytales they sometimes read. The small company of three greet those that are already there with polite hellos and make their way over to a part of the lakeshore where the grass is soft and water deep enough for proper fishing.

Granny Abe is patient in her teaching, having done this with her own children and grandchildren, and takes her motions slow and explains everything in simple detail. The children are too young to hook and bait their own lines just yet, but they both make sure to get a good view of Granny Abe when she does it.

"The key is patience." Granny Abe says, her soft voice even softer once she has explained the proper way of casting a line. "Patience and choosing the proper fish to take back home."

"Why can't we bring home all the fish?" Gon whispers as best he can, eyes curiously bright.

"If the fish is too small, then that means it won't make a proper meal because it still has growing to do." Granny Abe explains, the same answer she gave to Ging who asked the very same question many years ago. "And if it's too big, well, that means it has had a long life in the lake and deserves to continuing living that life."

Gon nods, pleased with that answer, but it's Mei who still seems deep in thought.

"But at the market, there are big fish." She says slowly. "Big as me and Gon even. Should they have gone back in the water?"

Granny Abe chuckles, laying a wrinkled hand on top of the girl's head and musing her already ruffled hair. "Not necessarily. Ocean fish grow faster and larger than lake fish most of the time. And fishing for the market is different from fishing for home. Ask your Aunt Mito about it. She helps there more than I do nowadays."

That seems to please Mei, whose questions tend to go a level deeper than Gon's on most days, an echo of her father who never seemed to run out of questions about a topic. Maybe they'll be a good balancing pair when they're older, but only time will tell.

It takes Granny Abe catching twenty different fish and only keep seven before she claims that's enough. She lets the twins carry the bucket together, their fishing poles strapped comfortably to their backs like she taught them too. The walk home is quicker, Granny Abe only pointing out songs the night birds and owls are singing and a few constellations in the sky.

By the time the trio gets home it's dark and Aunt Mito is already in the middle of preparing dinner. The children are quick to chatter about their day and what they learned, Aunt Mito nodding along and adding questions when appropriate.

Once they run out of things to say, she takes the fish from them and shows them the motions of cleaning and gutting it after they've washed up. Mei shows interest in the smooth motions of the blade and Gon wants to try eating fish over an open fire after Aunt Mito tells them it's another way to eat fish if they're hungry and out in the forest. The fire part is something they won't learn how to do for a while, but Aunt Mito promises to make one tomorrow so they can try it that way.

After dinner and a good bath, the twins clamor into their shared bed, side by side like they always start out. Aunt Mito wishes them both separate goodnights and gives them kisses on their foreheads. The children sleep peacefully, limbs becoming tangled with each other in the middle of the night like always.

It is unanimously decided that today was a great day.

. .

* * *

. .

A few days later, Granny Abe makes good on her promise and takes the twins to town for their books. It's exciting because they don't come to town proper often, not when they're still too young to be alone for extended periods of time and the town is still lacking in children their age.

It's tourist season, so the island is bustling with all sorts of people and there are more stands up now than on a normal market day. The twins stick close to their grandmother and keep a tight hold on each other's hands, somehow containing the excitement that makes them want to rush off and explore everything they see.

Granny Abe leads them to a shop, small and aged from dealing with constant ocean breezes like every other shop in the area. The inside is cast in a dim, yet oddly homely glow, and the twin's eyes are wide as they take in all the books that line the walls of the place.

"Grandmother Abe, what a pleasant surprise." Greets the man behind the counter, middle aged with crow's feet and laugh lines and the beginnings of salt and pepper hair. "Oh and I see you brought some guests."

"I surely did." Granny Abe says, stepping to the side so everyone can get a good look at each other. "Say hello dears."

Gon loses his nervousness in a second, smile bright when he says: "I'm Gon! It's nice to meet you!"

"I'm Mei." Says his sister, more subdued, free hand clutching at the fabric of her dress. She never takes to strangers as quickly as her brother, but she's working on it. "It's nice to meet you."

"Oh, I've heard of you two." The man behind the counter says, nodding his head. "Mito's nephew and niece. It's a pleasure to meet you both. My name's Eli and this is my shop, welcome. So, what can I do for you?"

"The little ones are interested in learning about the plants and animals native to the island." Explains Granny Abe. "I was wondering if you had any books simple enough for them to understand."

"I'm sure I do." Eli says, without even thinking about it. He moves from behind the counter and continues. "I can take over from here, Grandmother. I'll show the kids where the books are while you rest."

That seems like a good compromise for everyone. Granny Abe takes a seat in a plush red chair by the window and the twins follow Eli deeper inside the store. It takes a few twists and turns to get where they're going, but once they do, he crouches down and pulls a couple books off a lower shelf.

"Here we are." He says and holds the books so both twins can see. "This a book about the animals on Whale Island, the first of the series. It's the same with this one too, just about the plants. Now, instead of having to buy the books, how about I let you two in on a little secret?"

This gets the twins' attention automatically and they shuffle closer so the secret is better kept.

Eli chuckles softly and whispers. "When you finish these books and learn all you can from them, you can return them back to me and I'll give you more books. If we keep doing it like that for a while, you'll have read every book about plants and animals in my collection." It's the same type of system he had with Ging and Mito, so he isn't surprised when the process is ready for repetition.

Before he gets an answer, the twins look at each other, like silent discussing the proposition. Gon is the one that breaks eye contact first, looks at Eli and nods his head, accepting the offer.

"We'll take good care of the books." Mei promises, sincere in the way children often are.

"That settles it then." Eli hands a book to each child and stands to his feet. "Let's get your grandmother and get you two on home so you can get started on reading."

. .

* * *

. .

This is how the twins spend the passing months, between chores and fishing time with Grandmother Abe or Mito, they have their noses stuck in books, minds absorbing new information. They sing nursery rhymes about poisonous animals and plants under their breath, keep an eye out for a familiar bird or plant while walking, and share their information to an amused Aunt Mito.

Gon loses interests in the books after a while, prefers to hear the information from another person or learn through trial himself. He catches onto things pertaining to animals quicker than his sister does, at any rate, only needing to hear the information once before he can point out the exact animal by looking at a footprint or identify a bird based on its song or a fish based on its shimmering scales.

He knows a lot about plants too, but Mei knows more than him. She knows the name for every plant that grows in their garden and along the riverbank and lakeshore, knows which one is okay to eat and which one to knock out of Gon's hands before they have to take him to see the doctor because he still insists on putting every new thing he sees in his mouth. This is how the family learns Gon has a high immunity to poison, but Mei isn't fond on bursting into tears because her brother thought it was a good idea to put some random mushroom in his mouth to see how it would taste.

Mei at least makes it a habit to visit Uncle Eli's shop once every other week, picking out new books as she goes. Gon spends his time waiting for her by talking to everyone willing to listen, be they traveling fishermen and sailors or actual natives to the island. Aunt Mito eventually lets them make the travel to town and back themselves, figuring that if they stick together and around the shops, nothing bad will happen.

By the time they hit five, the only thing keeping the twins from being allowed to walk through the forest on their own is the fact that they're small and don't have proper navigation skills. Their hands are too clumsy still to handle proper knives that would help them, and Mito is selfish enough to keep them from reaching that point for just a bit longer.

Instead, she turns their attention to school and making sure they know to do homework and chores before doing their own thing. It's the hardest with Gon, who doesn't seem to dislike homework, but would be rather scaling trees like always. Mei keeps him focused enough, reminding Gon that he can do whatever he wants once homework is done, and that's always a good motivator.

After a while it gets hard to ignore the way Gon looks at the forest and how he has questions that will only get answered if he experiences it for himself. Mito ends up caving after Grandmother Abe reminds her that the twins are children of the Island and of course will want to explore to their hearts' content and reminds her how Mito herself was off following Ging around in the forest when she was even younger than them.

Mito teaches them how to rely on moss to get home and nick marks into trees so they don't get lost. She teaches them how to use the position of the sun and moon to tell time so they won't be late for dinner and gives them both their own fire starters once she's absolutely sure they're versed in fire safety. She reminds them about what fruits are safe to eat and not to disturb nests if they happen to come across them and what to do if they see an animal bigger than them. She even gives them minor lessons in first aid and gifts them sturdy canvas backpacks and bedrolls once everything is said and done and that's all she can really teach them without sending them off to experience it themselves.

She reminds them of the most important thing right before she sends them off for the first time: to keep an eye on each other and keep each other safe and never leave the other behind no matter what.

. . .

* * *

 _ **chapter 1**_

" _But the most beautiful things in life aren't just things. They're people and places, and memories and moments, smiles and laughter."_

* * *

. . .

 **A/N:**

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and please don't be afraid to leave me your thoughts on the chapter and how you thought everything was handled. This is my first major SI fic so I just wanna do my best!

Nothing much in this chapter besides establishing a few other things and working in my own headcanons. Speaking of headcanons, here are a few I have of the twins based on my own hcs I have of Gon:

*Neither of them were very vocal children until coming into Mito's care. It's not like they were behind developmentally per se, it's just that Ging, as a first time father with who knows how much guidance, failed to get the memo that it's important to talk _to_ your children rather than _at_ them. And also to do so regularly.

*When the children were in Ging's care, he only spoke the native language of Whale Island to them. (Which I'm going to base off of Maori if a need for it ever comes up)

*Gon is the twin that's naturally very self-sufficient and independent. Mei is pretty much emulating that aspect of him at the moment since she wants to do everything with her brother.

*Gon is very much a kinesthetic & spatial learner.

*They don't acknowledge the concept of who is the older twin and who is the younger twin between them because honestly, they forgot and honestly, they share everything so it isn't that big of a deal.

*Since Mei sometimes wears Gon's clothes, he sometimes wears her clothes, skirts and dresses included if he's feeling up to it. They are currently the same height, so it's no issue.

That's all so far! I hope to see you all again soon!


	3. chapter two

**Rating:** T

 **Warning(s):** A child gets very sick, brief mention of death, a life after death conversation, mention of what could be labeled as dissociation, mention of blood and bones in a sort of medical sense

 **A/N:**

Okay, I was in the middle of writing the third chapter when i decided to change my approach to a few things which ended up in this chapter having a lot more added content and stuff removed and moved somewhere else and chapter three having to be completely rewritten. As of now, i'm in the middle of rewriting chapter three in between getting ready for the last few weeks of the college semester so we'll see when chapter 3 comes out, hopefully it won't be too long.

Also! I got a lot of feedback from this fic within the last week and i'm so grateful for all the of the people who were willing to like, favorite, and review. I'd be lying if i said i wasn't hoping for people to show an interest in this fic, but now that it's happening i feel honored and excited! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter since i did have fun writing it!

This chapter is a few hundred words longer than the last one, so if you see any mistakes please let me know. I'm hoping i caught them all but sometimes they slip by.

 **Ages 6-8**

. . .

* * *

 _ **chapter 2**_

 _of belonging_

* * *

. .

Mei is six when she nearly dies.

A foreign summer sickness sweeps over the small population of Whale Island and confines fifty of the three hundred people to their beds. It starts simply enough, minor headaches and body aches, but then blooms into nosebleeds and migraines and complaints about every movement feeling like needles under their skin. There's a fever that makes them burn like fire and chills that wrack the body, and there's a throat-tearing cough and vomiting and the stomach rebelling towards food.

Mei is the only one in the Freecss household and child on the island to falls victim to the illness, and after three of the elders die from it a month after the outbreak, there is cause for great concern.

Grandmother Abe prays she won't outlive another young one and Mito cries because she doesn't know what to do if she lost her child like this and Gon is quiet the entire time. He brings all of Mei's favorite flowers from the forest and lines them on the nightstand and on the dresser until their room is thick with the sweet smell covering the scent of sickness that clings to the air.

He hates that he has to sleep on the couch because he wants to stay by Mei's side, make sure she's okay and won't be alone when she wakes up, so she doesn't think they've abandoned her.

"We don't know what causes it." Vonne says. She is the only doctor on the island. But never in her time as one has she seen what makes the islanders suffer so. Her brown eyes are sad as she speaks, lips drawn in a thin line when she consults with Mito. "The best we can do is try to keep her stable as possible until word comes back from the mainland as to how to cure it."

"And how long will that be?" Mito asks, her voice rough from crying but her eyes are hard, determined. She'll sail straight up to the mainland's doctors herself if she needs to.

"It's monsoon season." The doctor says simple, the only answer that's needed without explicitly saying help might take a long time to arrive.

. .

* * *

. .

Mei is just barely coherent on some days and other days she just sleeps and sometimes she screams herself raw from her fever dreams.

Gon hates all of this, he just wishes his sister would get better.

. .

* * *

. .

This is what Mei dreams about while she straddles the line between life and death, small body fighting to keep its stolen place in this world.

In these dreams, she is older but beloved and innocent still.

She dreams of places that ought to be familiar, but no longer are. Everything foreign even though it shouldn't be. Faces are blurred and grainy like old photographs and there are mouths that move but she can't tell what anyone is saying. A now foreign language, which she knows used to not always be such, passes their lips, and she is left overwhelmed trying to keep up with them.

She dreams of a family that isn't her own, that isn't comprised of Gon, Aunt Mito, and Granny Abe, but they still know who she is. They give her recognition and love and their pride in her leaks off in droves. They hold her close and kiss her cheeks and laugh from all the happiness in their heart. They love her so much and something deep inside of her loves them too, but she can't think of why or how that's possible when she can't even remember their names despite feeling like she should.

She feels like she's betraying these now stranger like this, forgetting the love they had for her that was once so clear. But at the same time, she feels like she's betraying her family back on Whale Island, having another family that claims to love her just as much as them.

Is she really the sister of Gon Freecss and Aunt Mito's only niece and Granny Abe's beloved great-granddaughter, or is she a changeling child that forced her way into their lives?

"Who am I?" She asks the family with forgotten faces and gets no answer in return.

. .

* * *

. .

Mei also dreams of her brother, older than he is now but still so young.

In these dreams, he wears his heart on his sleeve and looks for the father that Aunt Mito said was dead. He carries his fishing pole and a blue card and travels far and wide and makes people smile as easily as breathing. He cries and laughs and gets angry, so _so_ angry that it makes Mei fear he will rip the world asunder if he has to.

She dreams of red eyes and chains, lions with soft hearts, and places she's only seen on maps and in pictures. There are brightly colored people and powers beyond her imagination. And there is blood, so much blood.

 _That is the price of this power_ , she thinks, as she watches her brother bleed and tries to convince herself this isn't real.

By her brother's side, throughout these dreams and sometimes nightmares, there is a boy made of moonbeams and lightning strikes, who is learning what it truly means to _be_ and _be happy_. Mei, though she does not know this boy, is happy for him and happier still that his presence makes Gon happy. There is jealousy too, when she sees them smiling and laughing together, like it was destined in the stars for them to meet.

Mei does not think about what it means when she does not see herself in these dreams, that Gon does not mention her once, or even alludes to her existence.

To know that she has no actual place in her brother's life is the most painful thing of all, so she pushes these strange dreams away and tries her hardest to forget she even had them in the first place.

They're fever dreams after all, how important can they be?

. . .

* * *

. .

Mei gets better before the end of the summer season, the medicine working quickly and all her symptoms wane into nonexistence. There are only a few known side effects from the ailment that wracked her body, but it's easy for Mei to take medicine for the occasional migraines, and she doesn't mind her nosebleeds since they only happen when she's over exerted or stressed.

She bounces back with a vigor that's only found in her Freecss genes. The first thing Mei does once she's off bed rest is have a tree climbing contest with her brother that rips her stockings and scrapes the palms of her hands, but she's too happy to care.

Having the children's laughter fill the space of the home is a wonderful feeling, the few long weeks Mei was sick cast a shadow over everyone, a shadow that Mito didn't know what to do with. Gon, perceptive as he is, asked questions that Mito wasn't prepared to answer, like what would happen if his sister didn't get better. She just held the boy close and promised with all her heart that they'd try their best to make sure Mei made a full recovery.

The twins are happy and enjoying themselves. Mito's gotten used to them running off into the forest and into town whenever they get bored and bringing back all sorts of stories about the animals and people they've encountered. They even made a sort of friend with the only other local child their age, a girl a couple years younger than them named Noko who's the daughter of the local carpenter.

It's when they're home and in their respective corners that Mito starts noticing a real difference in the two of them. They don't do everything together in the house anymore, Mei not bothering to wait for her brother to finish his homework before helping out more in the kitchen or doing something else entirely. It makes Mito worry, but the kids aren't having a fight. If they have a need to fight, they'd actually fight with fists out in the yard and come inside all scrapped and dirty but with the problem resolved.

The change is worrying because Mei tends to give her brother wistful and sad looks when she thinks no one is watching, like she's afraid he'll disappear on her one day. They're the same sort of looks Mito used to give Ging, at least that's what Grandmother Abe pointed out when Mito brought it up to her.

"They're growing up." Grandmother had said. "Two sides of the same coin are vastly different for a reason."

It makes sense, but Mito worries regardless.

. .

* * *

. .

Aunt Mito isn't the only one that notices the change in behavior from Mei.

"You've been acting really weird, Mei." Gon says, sprawled out on the floor of their shared room, stuck inside because of the storm.

"Have I?" Mei asks from her spot right next to Gon, more curled up on her side facing him than sprawled out on the carpet, dozing from the sound of rain on roof tiles.

He hums his assent, shifting his head to the side before continuing. "You're here, but sometimes you aren't here. You lose focus a lot and sometimes you look sad but then you won't tell me why you're sad. And you won't even help me with homework anymore like you said you would, so it's really boring." He gives her a look, worry clear on his face. "Mei, did I do something wrong or make you upset without realizing it?"

Mei sits up so fast that it even catches Gon off guard, makes him jump a little, and wonder if he's going to be yelled at.

"Don't be an idiot!" she hisses, slapping her brother's arm, not hard but not softly either. "You haven't done anything to make me upset. I'm…I'm just being weird and silly. Worried about dumb stuff I guess."

The worried look on Gon's face comes back, and he moves until he's spread across Mei's lap, peering up at her so she can't hide her face. "Nothing Mei worries about is dumb. Tell me."

Mei bites her lip, a bad habit she's picked up lately, and tugs the sleeves of her sweater down so they cover her palms. She suddenly feels that her worries are childish and trivial but that's the thing isn't, she's a child no matter how odd and out of place her mind and body feels sometimes, she isn't older than six and a few months, can't be. She's allowed to be worried about silly things, right?

"It's just," she starts and wishes the sudden nervousness would go away. She's talking to Gon after all, and he knows everything about her. "it's super silly, but sometimes I feel weird. I know Whale Island is my home, but sometimes I feel kind of out of place."

Mei can't see it, the fiercely protective look that makes its way on Gon's face after she finishes her vague explanation. "Someone didn't say anything mean to you did they, Mei?"

"No." she lets out a laugh that sounds wet and sniffles, suddenly emotional and feeling overwhelmed. _Childish_ , she scolds herself, but that's okay, isn't it? "It's just a feeling I get sometimes. Like, I don't really know how to explain it because it's so weird, but I thought I was going good at hiding it. Guess not."

"Don't cry." Gon sooths automatically, lifting himself up and wrapping his sister in the warmest hug he can give her. His arms are small, but he's just the right size to fit his equally as small sister. "Whale Island might not feel like your home sometimes, but Aunt Mito says home isn't always a place. It's sometimes the people or something like that. That's why some people can travel around a lot and still be okay. Your home might not really be Whale Island. It might actually be with me because we've always been together, right?"

"Yeah." She croaks softly, swallows back a sob and buries her face deeper in the crook of her brother's neck.

"That's good, because if you ever leave Whale Island, that means you have to take me with you!"

She nods and does not mention her dreams where Gon always leaves and she is nowhere by his side.

. . .

* * *

. .

The dreams Mei had from her fever come back in starts and burst, undecipherable things that she chooses to ignore until they fade from her memory again, pushed back for other more important subjects.

She doesn't like how empty they make her feel whenever she wakes up from one, how out of place she is in her own skin on somedays. Gon notices in that subtle way of his, which makes Mei feel bad for forgetting that her brother is a lot smarter than people tend to give him credit for. Empathetic and perceptive, Mei can tell he's trying to stay in tune with her moods even if he might not know the direct cause for them.

On days where Mei can't quite place herself in the world , spends what feels like _secondsminutes_ _ **hours**_ , staring at her hands trying to place just who they belong to (if she's really _really_ who she thinks she is), Gon is there. Gon is there with his bright smiles and promises and soft hands, hands that are growing callous from all his adventuring, to let her know that he's there if she needs him.

Mei thinks of those dreams where Gon is in pain but standing despite the bruises and blood and she thinks that can never happen.

She can never allow that to happen, but can she even trust these dreams and their blurred edges and muted voices?

Mei chooses to try and find answers if she can, goes to the wisest person she knows on Whale Island.

"Granny Abe," Mei starts and tries not to think of how today her voice sounds too young to her own ears. "I have a question."

"What is it, dear?" the elder asks, not pausing from her embroidery or ceasing the gentle rocking of her chair.

Mei bites the inside of her cheek, thinking of the best way to word the question swimming around in her head. It's such an odd thing for a girl like her to ask, but maybe if she spins it correctly it won't seem like anything more than a passing curiosity.

"When a person dies, do they come back as a different person? Or…or maybe the same person, just having to redo things over if they messed up for some reason?"

Last half of the question refers to Gon, how she's seen him angry in a way that couldn't really be him, can't be him. He's too kind for that sort of anger, something must have happened. Maybe it's a chance to make sure it doesn't happen.

"I wouldn't know for a fact, the afterlife is such a mysterious thing. Beliefs vary from person to person, so it depends on who you ask about it. It's a matter of faith after all."

"Oh…what do you believe, if you don't mind me asking?"

"So formal, even to your own kin." Granny Abe laughs, soft and dry like paper that's been balled up and smoothed out twenty different times. "I believe in Paradise, that when I die these old bones of mine won't ache anymore and I'll be somewhere with endless beauty. I'll be reunited with my children and all the other family that left before me. You look like her you know?"

"I look like who?" Mei asks, allowing the topic to shift for curiosity's sake.

"Ging's mother, Mako. She wasn't native to the island but she arrived young, grew up with my boys and swept my oldest off his feet. Ging took after her the most, looks and personality. He didn't get her curly hair though, you've got that. Let it grow long if you want, Mei. Mito'll stop making you cut it if you keep lizards out of it."

Mei flushes and can't hide her pout. They'll be telling that lizard story forever honestly. "I'll consider it, Granny."

The elder laughs softly again, shaking her head slowly from side to side. "You didn't come here to listen to an old lady get nostalgic, but there are albums in the attic if you want to look at them. Anyways that's what I believe in, Paradise. I knew a few people that didn't believe in anything and others that believed in a cycle of rebirth. As for your question on reliving life, I'm not so sure I've heard of that one. Now tales of fate and souls destined to meet each other in different lives, that's a common too."

"That's interesting." Mei says honestly, feels like that might be more in line with what her theory might be. "Thank you for answering my question."

"I don't feel like I really did much of anything, but you're welcome regardless. I won't ask about your sudden curiosity and I won't tell Mito about you asking either. Goodness knows she'll have a fright especially after when you just got through being so sick."

Mei gives a small smile and rubs a hand against her cheek to stave off her embarrassment. She completely forgot about the fact that Aunt Mito might learn about this conversation, but Granny Abe doesn't go back on her word, so she shouldn't worry too much about it. Aunt Mito isn't overbearing, but Mei knows she worries a lot.

"Thanks, Granny." Mei bends down to give the old woman a kiss on her cheek before heading back to the room.

Gon isn't there when she reenters, not surprising since he ran off as soon as their homework and chores were done, Mei opting to stay behind to give more thought to the current situation. She flops down on their shared bed, eyes trained to the ceiling.

Mei thinks of the other life she may or may not have lived, of the people with the faces and names she can't recall and the fact that sometimes she feels older than she is. It makes her clumsy on days when everything is off, something in her mind thinking her body should be able to take longer strides and move in a completely different way.

She thinks of reincarnation and destined souls and seeing things that have (had?) happened (will happen?) to her brother. There's nothing to prove anything, just a gut feeling, and an odd situation. Mei doesn't know what to do, not really, especially when everything is jumbled in her mind and gets fogged up and faded after a few days like all dreams do. Thinking too hard about it gives her a migraine and a nosebleed, not something she wants to deal with often.

Mei just knows for a fact her brother will leave the island one day, anyone can see the way he stares out at the boats and into the distance that he wants to leave. She doesn't know if she wants to leave herself, but she doesn't want Gon going off alone. She'll go where he goes, they're twins after all.

She'll just have to make sure she's prepared for when that does happen.

. . .

* * *

. .

"Aunt Mito, do you think Doctor Vonne will teach me about medicine?"

The question makes Mito pause in the middle of filleting a freshly caught fish from this morning's haul. She looks over at her niece, who picked up on the task of cutting and cleaning easy enough and tries to see if her expression holds any answers. Of course it doesn't, not really. Mei and Gon aren't actually the easiest children to read, but Mei needs a bit more prompting before her intentions become clear, while with Gon one just needs the correctly worded question and he's bound to give an answer, no problem.

"What's the sudden interest?" Mito asks, continuing with the task at hand.

"Well, it's just that Gon is always off in the forest nowadays and he comes back with scrapes and stuff. I'm worried that one day he's going get himself really hurt and I'll be the only one around able to do something about it, so I feel like I need to be prepared for emergencies."

"That is a good reason." One that she can't argue against. Mito's actually glad that one of the twins has an interest in their wellbeing. Gon is the reckless sort, that's for sure.

"Plus," Mei continues, unblinking as she pulls the guts out of a new fish, it didn't even bother her when she first started helping out at the market. "I know a lot about the plants that grow on the island, so I might as well put that knowledge into proper practice. That is the kind of medicine that Doctor Vonne uses, right? Everything natural?"

"That's right. There's so much that grows here that it's easier and cheaper to rely on it rather than mainland medicine for something as simple as a minor cold. I think she delves into acupuncture too. It might be a bit harder learn, but at least you won't have to jump through as many hoops as you would if you wanted to study medicine elsewhere."

"So you'll let me?" Mei looks at her with shining eyes and an excited grin.

Mito sighs, knowing she doesn't spoil the children, but sometimes it feels like it. "I will, if Doctor Vonne takes you on as an apprentice. But you have to promise me you won't get bored of it halfway through and end up wasting everyone's time. Studying medicine is important Mei, you could save lives with what you learn. It's not a game."

"I promise Aunt Mito! We can even pinky swear!"

Mito laughs softly, removes her gloves and links her pinky with Mei's smaller one.

"I promise to take studies seriously and not give up halfway." Mei sings, bouncing their hands up and down, no rhyme or rhythm to her words. "If I don't I'll swallow a thousand needles."

"Seal it with a kiss~." both aunt and niece say as one, pressing their thumbs together and laughing.

. .

* * *

. .

Doctor Vonne is a tall woman, with skin a warm russet brown and black hair done up in braids with seashells strung throughout. She is lovely and kind, married to a man that's native to the island even though she herself is from far away. She wears long flowing clothes that are earth toned and golden bangles that chime on her wrists and ankles. And she carries the smell of fresh herbs wherever she goes, something heady and soothing.

She doesn't speak to Mei like she is a child or mention how the girl is like the father she can't even remember on most days, a perk from having never met the man. Next to Uncle Eli, Doctor Vonne is probably one of Mei's favorite people on Whale Island that isn't related to her.

"And why do you want to be my apprentice?" Doctor Vonne asks when Mei is first presented to her. Her brown eyes sharp and gaze searching.

Mei grows nervous under the intense gaze; feels like the woman in front of her can pick apart her insides and mind if she lets her guard down. Mei knows her reason for wanting to study under the woman, it's all for Gon's sake really. Medical knowledge can go a long way if applied correctly; no one will keep her away from her brother if she proves she can do something useful.

But that's a selfish reason, Mei knows this too because she's not doing for herself or because she wants to help others. She'll help them if she has to, but she won't fool herself into thinking that a stranger would be the first person at the front of her mind, the first person she's willing to save.

This is a secret she'll keep to herself for now, until she finds someone that shares her own feelings and won't judge her, or deem her strange.

"I'm interested in plants," Mei starts her answer, words carefully spoken as she forms her half-truths. It's a new skill she's picked up; just telling the right amount of information so no expects anything else. "and I read that you can do a lot with them, a lot of helpful and useful things. I want to learn how to do those things, to help the people I care about.

It is silent for what feels like a long stretch of minutes after. Mei is worried that she didn't seem sincere enough, that Doctor Vonne has completely seen through her half-truths and was not pleased with her answer.

"Alright." The doctor says, sudden sound of her voice making Mei jump just a little. "I'll teach you, but don't think I'll go easy on you just because you're a kid. This is serious business and I don't have time to fool around."

"Of course! I'll do my very best."

Mei smiles, genuine and relieved and glad that maybe, just maybe she'll be of some type of help.

. .

* * *

. .

Though Doctor Vonne is a kind woman, she is a firm teacher that takes her work seriously. There's isn't always someone on the island that needs her expertise, but there's always something to do pertaining to her job. Mei spends three days out of each week, from sunup to sundown (and sometimes a little after) learning from the woman, a hard feat since she also has schoolwork to juggle as well.

Mei learns about herbs first, which ones are best what symptoms and it amazes her how the herbs Aunt Mito uses for cooking can also help a stomachache or reduce a fever. She learns the best places to pick the ones that aren't homegrown and sometimes when she's having lessons with Doctor Vonne in the forest, they'll cross paths with Gon, and Mei will share what she's learned about a certain patch of plants, reminding him to be careful of them while he goes on his way.

Mei even starts growing chamomile, feverfew, and lemon balm in the corners of her and Gon's room, watching as they change the space and make it smell nice. Gon gifts her with an aloe plant on their seventh birthday and she ends up crying from laughing so hard.

From her spending so much time with the herbs, Mei learns how to dry them out for storage and later use, and this when Doctor Vonne gives her the okay to start her own medicinal kit and journals so she never forgets what she's learned. Mei even gets her own pestle and mortar to make her own poultices once she gets that far in her lessons.

She learns how to blend soothing teas and which is the best beeswax for balms and salves. These are things that she tests on Gon before showing them to Doctor Vonne for the okay to go on to the next step, trusting her brother's high recovery rate and poison resistance to make him a good test subject.

It's hard work and it's tiring, but Mei gets it and she's good at it, and that makes her happy, helps her keep her mind off of the strange feelings she gets sometimes. The feeling makes her wonder if she really belongs, but she's making a place for herself, so it must be okay for her to be here.

After nearly a year of Doctor Vonne letting Mei tag along to different appointments and learning the proper spots to press to either numb pain, invoke it, or put a person to sleep quicker, things start getting more serious.

Doctor Vonne takes her to the butcher and has Mei watch as they slaughter a pig. This is how Mei, now eight, learns of hearts and blood vessels and layers of fat and muscle, she learns by watching the butcher and reading the few anatomy books that Uncle Eli has in his shop. She learns which veins cause the most bleeding when cut even just a little and how to hold a scalpel and sew stitches without her hands shaking, how to tell if bones are broken under the skin, and reset bones that are dislocated or cleanly broken.

She's allowed to start sitting in on small surgeries, her now skilled fingers pressing spots to make the pain disappear. The surgeries that happen on the island are usually to remove things, fix accidents that happened while the men were fishing, or put a bone back in place where it breaks through the skin. Mei sits through these all, the smell of copper blood so strong, that it clings to the back of her throat for hours after. But Mei keeps her hands and herself steady, doesn't flinch when white sheets quickly become red, or when she has to sew up her first suture for a man that sliced himself with a hook so deeply she could see his bone.

She reminds herself that this is for Gon. One day, her brother might be the one bleeding out and she doesn't want to be useless if that time ever comes.

. . .

* * *

 _ **chapter 2**_

" _I don't think I was made for this world."_

* * *

. . .

 **A/N:**

Once again, thank you so much for taking the time to read this and don't be afraid to tell me your thoughts on how things are going so far and how things are being handled, especially since it's picking up a little. Still not in canon territory, but we're getting a bit closer.

I hope Mei's personality is starting to come through just a bit that's probably my biggest worry at the moment. I don't want her to be boring, but I also want to make her as realistically as I can given her current situation and who she's related to and all sorts of stuff. I'm also wrestling with Gon's speech patterns and making them as accurate as possible because this boy is so polite, even with family members. Mei is too, but Gon probably is more so since I hc him with slightly better people skills since he's the one most likely to go up to a stranger and chat with them. So sorry if Gon's dialogue is a bit awkward at first.

Anyways, that's all I have to say for this chapter. Hopefully I'll see you all next time!


	4. chapter three

**Rating:** T

 **Warning(s):** Mentioned animal death and mention of Mei's occasional dissociation episodes

 **A/N:**

This chapter turned out a lot longer than I originally planned it to be (it's a little over 7k words) and honestly, there were some things i wanted to add but decided not to since I didn't want to risk messing with the flow of this chapter since I think it has a pretty decent one. It might seem a little weird in parts but that's really because there's a lot of dialogue in this chapter, so I hope you guys like that and sorry for any mistakes you might stumble across.

Thank you guys for all the favorites, follows, and reviews and just plain views! I'm so grateful for everyone that takes the time to read this words cannot explain how touched I am!

Either way, I had a lot of fun writing this chapter even though I thought it would never end, so I hope y'all enjoy it too!

 **Ages 9**

. . .

* * *

 _ **chapter 3**_

 _together_

* * *

. .

"You really should be more careful, Gon." Mei says, voice soft and mind half distracted by the current task at hand.

Gon only laughs, something nervous and light, because Mei is aware of the fact that he knows she's right. If Gon was a little more careful, a little more self-preserving, then she probably wouldn't be here sewing stitches along the palm of his hand like this.

The only reason she deemed it necessary to carry her medical kit with her near constantly was because of the simple fact that her brother is the reckless sort, even at just nine years old. Gon knows of his recklessness, doesn't need anyone to tell him that, but he never seems too interested in changing his behavior. Not when he knows Mei will be there to patch him up if need be and even if she wasn't, he bounces back quickly enough, all of his wounds healing at alarmingly fast rates. Mei doesn't know if she's the same, being hurt enough to bleed near endlessly and breaking a bone isn't something she's willing to do if she can avoid it.

Mei tries not to worry each time her twin presents her with a new bleeding cut or sprained wrist; it's just the way Gon is after all. She'd rather not spend her entire time worrying about her brother, about things she has no control over. Gon never tells her not to worry about him, because that would be useless for him too. He can tell Mei is getting used to him being hurt even if she might not like it. Aunt Mito isn't though, for some reason or another. Gon tells her not to worry all the time and isn't annoyed whenever she asks about a new bandage or bruise, it's just how things are.

"Thanks, Mei." Gon says instead, head leaning down a little to see the progress of the needle and thread. He can't even feel it and that makes it all the more interesting to watch.

Mei just sighs, grabs a pair of small scissors and cuts the thread once she's done. She takes Gon's hand gently, examining her finished work. Her brother's hand is a patchwork of smaller scars from different cuts, most of them faded against the bronze of his skin. All of them have a tale behind them, stories that he's long forgotten by now.

Her suture is professionally straight and will only be in two days at most, that is if she constantly reminds him not to mess with it. She probably didn't even need to give Gon stitches, but it was bleeding so much, she didn't want to take the chance.

"This is an awkward place to get stitches." She hums and grabs a roll of bandages out of her bag. "What happened exactly? I only turned my back on you for ten minutes to go help Aunt Mito."

Gon takes a deep breath, quick to relay his tale. "Well, I caught a fish, but it was really big and one of the ones that have sharp spines on their fins and flare out. So when I tried to take the hook out to let it go, it got all scared and flared up and cut my hand. But I didn't let it go until the hook was completely out, so I guess that opened the cut up more, and that's when you came back."

By the time he's done telling his story, Mei has his hand properly wrapped. Bandages on the hand can be awkward to wear, but she tries her best to wrap them in a way that Gon will be able to make use his with no real problem, but not giving him too much movement so he doesn't have the chance to tear the stitches.

"How much fish did you end up catching before your accident?" Mei chooses to ask, not making a comment on how her brother's too kind heart got him that cut on his hand. Most people would have dropped the fish after the first injury and dealt with that.

"Four, they're pretty big, so it should be enough for dinner right?"

Once Mei has put all her supplies back, she peers into the cooler Gon brought along with him to store the fish and nods, very pleased with her brother's catch. They don't go to the beach to fish often due to all the commotion, but Aunt Mito wanted them to be near her at the port just in case she needed some help today. There have been really big hauls lately, so extra hands have been needed and people have been staying out a bit longer than usual.

Mei slips her satchel on her shoulder and watches as her brother gathers up his fishing pole and the cooler. Gon is already one of the best, if not the best, fisher on the island. Anyone can see that, but a lot of the younger adults refuse to acknowledge it for some reason, petty reasons more than likely. Gon isn't really bothered by it from what Mei can tell since it's enough to simply know he's better than them because then their talk doesn't amount to much. At least that's what he told her when she asked about it, though not in as many words.

Gon links their free arms together once he's ready and leads them forward, their bare feet creating the illusion of a four legged creature as they walk through the sand and back towards town proper. They walk close to where the water laps the shore, lets the waves wash away their footprints and soak their feet. It will be troublesome later, once they have to get the sand from in between their toes, but for now, they don't mind.

"You didn't get my skirt wet did you?" Mei asks, lightly hip checks her brother and isn't surprised when he barely even stumbles. "Clothes that get saltwater on them have to be washed separately with that special detergent Granny Abe makes."

Gon sighs, gently knocks their heads together, and rests his on Mei's shoulder. He's starting to get a bit taller than her, she doesn't know how to feel about that exactly, always hoping they'd be around the same height no matter what age they got. "I know, besides, you don't even wear this skirt that often and I thought you wouldn't mind."

"I don't mind, but I bet you're only wearing it because you ran out of clean shorts. Gon, you can't rely on me to wash your clothes for you all the time." Her voice isn't reprimanding, but it's something close, her tone a nearly perfect mimic of their aunt's. "Aunt Mito is gonna start noticing and then you might get in trouble for letting things pile up like this."

"Washing clothes is so boring, though," Gon insists, childish whine lacing his tone. "I don't know how Aunt Mito does it all the time."

"She's used to it, I guess. If you want, we can do laundry on the same day and same time each week, so then you won't have to do it by yourself. How does that sound?"

"That sounds fun, Mei!" Gon chirps, lifts his head just enough nuzzle against her cheek.

Mei laughs, extremely ticklish and hating herself for it, the sudden succession of movements nearly making the both topple onto the sand. It's a sort of muscle memory the way Gon tightens his hold on Mei's arm to keep her from falling over. He's used to catching her with how often she tends to tumble off their bed, especially lately. Gon blames nightmares, and she blames the fact that her preference with sleeping near the edge has its consequences. Gon knows he's right, but that's a topic Mei doesn't like to talk about, so he doesn't push it.

When they reach the port, they aren't surprised to see it bustling with natives, tourists, and fishermen staying for a short while alike. The twins, polite as they are, shoot quick _hellos_ and _how are you doings_ topeople they recognize, and send pleasant _have a nice stay at Whale Island_ to the ones they don't. Everyone is quick to return their pleasantries, it's hard not to when seeing a pair of smiling children attached to the hip, barefooted and sandy, but filled with so much life.

Mei leads them to where Aunt Mito has her stall set up, some large fish hanging from poles and the smaller ones placed neatly in rows. All of them fresh with how their saltwater scent is prominent and how their dead eyes are unclouded still.

"Are you going to be late getting home, Aunt Mito?" Mei stops their two person parade right behind the stall and next to the adult.

"Hmm, probably." Aunt Mito says, an apology gleaming in her eyes when she bends down to kiss the twins on their cheeks. "You two don't mind cooking dinner for me do you?"

"Of course not!" Gon proclaims, pleased to do anything to help make her day easier. "I caught four big fish! We can have those can't we?"

"Of course we can, Gon." Aunt Mito pauses, contemplating look crossing her face. "We might want to make something that'll last a couple days just in case I'm busy again tomorrow night. How about fish stew and a fresh loaf of bread or two? I went to the market yesterday, so we should have everything you kids will need."

"That sounds fine." Mei agrees, nodding her head. "It's still pretty early, though, not even lunchtime yet, so me and Gon are going to do some laundry when we get home. Do you need anything washed?"

"No, but thank you for asking. I washed mine and Grandmother Abe's things a couple days ago, so we both should be good. When you get back home, don't forget to check to make sure you have most of your homework finished for this week. I'll need to send it off in a couple days."

Talk of homework is enough to make a frown form on Gon's face. He gives Aunt Mito a rushed _okaybyeweloveyou_ before he's off dragging Mei on home. His sister complies only because she knows what that means, that Gon is behind on homework and they'll probably spend a good part of the day making sure most of it's completed before Aunt Mito comes back home to check it.

. .

* * *

. .

Washing clothes is first on their list, a simple enough feat and somewhat relaxing. Their chatter and laughter fill the air between them as they're elbow deep in soapy water scrubbing their clothes clean. Gon's good at washing of course because he never does anything in halves, he probably doesn't like doing it for the same reason he doesn't like doing homework. It wastes time he'd rather be spending elsewhere. It's so much easier to get Gon to do things if he has someone there with him, otherwise, he'd get bored and wander off or take longer to do it.

Once they have everything clean and hung up to dry, they eat a small snack of fruits, nuts, and cheese. Mei picks out the hazelnuts and cashews because she's never been a fan of them, so she's always relied on Gon not to let them go to waste. Her brother happily complies because he likes all sorts of foods, and doesn't complain when Mei swipes a few slices of his cheese. It seems like a fair enough tradeoff for some of her nuts.

After they eat lunch, the twins pour over their homework, shoulders pressed together and heads bent over identical workbooks. Mei walks Gon through the math as best she can so he isn't left steaming out the ears as much. She's only doing a little better than him at this subject honestly, but she tries her best.

Mei doesn't like fact that school seems so important, sure she gets that it matter for learning how to spell and read and do basic math and learn some history, but Gon's smart in all the ways that school doesn't even apply. Sometimes she wonders if she should ask Aunt Mito if doing junior high lessons would be necessary, but throws that thought to the side when she remembers how much stock her aunt puts into their education.

They start dinner around five once most of the homework is out the way, Granny Abe having emerged from her room to keep the two of them company while crocheting something that starting to look like another blanket to add to the growing collection.

Mei decides to prepare the stew and has Gon work on the bread. He's the better baker out of the two of them, quick and efficient with his work, and doesn't even need the cookbook open to see how to make most of the stuff Aunt Mito has him cook. Mei wants to see how he does with pastries at some point, preferably a tart or a fruit pie whenever he's willing. He'd probably do it if she just outright asks him, but she doesn't want to take advantage like that. No one in the house has really much of sweet tooth, so when Mei gets a craving, it isn't much to take a trip down to the baker's and grab something small.

If Gon's the better baker, Mei is better at the other stuff, particularly when it comes to anything involving meats. She prefers making stews because they're simple and easy and she likes to alter the recipes from time to time depending on what herbs are required. She figured that making meals is a bit like making poultices and other medicinal remedies: you have the main ingredients you want to stick with, but altering it a little depending on who you're working with is okay as long as the original intent isn't lost.

By the time dinner is cooked and ready, Aunt Mito is home, tired from a long day, but pleased that the twins have been so productive. They even have all the plates laid out on the table and the kitchen cleaned up, so she doesn't have to lift a finger.

When everyone is fed and clean and in their pajamas, Mei and Gon decide to turn in for the night. It's still a little early, but they had to deal with an earlier and busier day, so both of them agree that sleeping sooner rather than later would be for the best.

Mei spends the few minutes Gon takes combing her hair dozing in her spot in front of him, head bobbing on the occasion. There's rarely a night where Gon doesn't take up the task of unknotting the tangles in Mei's dark brown curls. It's a good task to wind down to, something familiar and comfortable, lulls them both to sleep faster than anything else.

"Hey, Gon," Mei starts, once her hair is in order and done in the loose braid she always wears to sleep. "do you ever get a sort of feeling?"

Gon slightly purses his lips and shakes his head, a little worried about the start of this conversation. Mei talks about feeling weird on the occasion and Gon notices enough about his sister to know when those weird feelings affect her. She gets a faraway look in her eyes and sometimes her answers are a bit delayed, it's a little worrying, but she always rights herself after a week at the very most. She hasn't been like that for the past couple of months, so Gon has counted that as a pretty okay record.

"What kind of feeling?" Gon asks, buries himself under the covers and lets his eyes adjust after Mei turns off the light.

Mei doesn't answer right away, just makes her way to the bed and retreats under the covers as well, turning around so she ends up facing her brother while she talks.

"A feeling like something is about to happen?"

"Kind of," Gon answers after a moment of thought. "but it's usually when one of the animals are following me, but I can't see them."

Mei scrunches her freckle doted nose a little, not exactly the answer she was looking for. "I guess like that, but not so immediate. Like you know something is about to happen, but you don't know when it's going to happen exactly, but you know it'll probably be soon."

"Well, is it a good something or a bad something?" Gon is straight to the point, would rather not deal with hypotheticals when he knows who the subject of this conversation is.

"I don't know, Gon. I really don't know and I guess that's why I'm probably worried about it." Mei sighs, looks tired all of a sudden, feels a sort of weariness that leaks down to her bones. She feels older in this moment.

She hates it.

"I wouldn't worry about it too much, Mei. Besides, you have me and Aunt Mito and Granny Abe here with you if it's a bad thing. We'll keep you safe if you're worried about getting hurt. I'd never let anything hurt you."

"Even if it means you get hurt in the process?"

"Of course!" Gon nods, conviction clear in the amber of his eyes. "I get better really fast so I'd rather get hurt than see you hurt."

"Well, what if I'm the same way too?" Mei rebuttals, a little peeved that her brother is so willing to get hurt for her. It's kind of him, but she knows it's because he's caring and reckless and him getting hurt because of her isn't something she wants to see. "What if I'd rather get hurt than having you get hurt?"

"Well, you're going to have to get over it then because you're my sister."

"Well, you're my brother."

"That doesn't matter!" Gon says, sets his jaw stubbornly straight. "I'm going to keep you safe forever and you're going have to deal with it."

"Fine!" Mei hisses, throws the pillow over her head, and hates herself for being happy about Gon's words. She's happy about them, but she's upset too. "You're so stubborn."

Gon tries not to laugh. Mei always resorts to hiding when she knows she's lost an argument. He removes an arm from under the cover and pats where he knows her head is. "I love you, Mei. Goodnight."

"Gross," Her voice is muffled, but she doesn't sound like she's about to bite his head off anymore. "I love you too. Sleep tight."

. . .

* * *

. .

Mei's trepidation reaches its height a couple of weeks after the initial conversation she had with Gon.

It gets to the point where her dreams are becoming indistinguishable, frantic things like they're trying to warn her of something, but everything is too mixed together to make sense of. It's a symphony of whispered voices and images too blurred to be recognizable, flashes of scenes out of context that do nothing but make her grow fearful and wary of the unknown.

She wakes each morning with headaches and an anxiety that stays curled in her stomach at all times of the day. Teas made from valerian root do nothing to settle her nerves despite their promise to do so. Her sleep becomes dreamless voids but she still rises in the morning feeling half dead and worried for about a danger she can't place.

It gets to the point where there are bags forming under Mei's eyes, dark bruises that look odd and out of place against her skin. When her hands start shaking from exhaustion and her work becomes sloppy enough to raise concern, when she drops one or two vials more than normal, Doctor Vonne suggests she takes a couple days, maybe even a full week off. That is until she starts feeling right again, until she can still her hands and get a few nights proper rest and ease everyone's concern.

Aunt Mito worries it's another illness coming to put Mei on a sickbed again, so she hovers more than usual, and makes sure her niece doesn't exert herself. Mei knows it isn't a sickness, so the hovering isn't necessary, but she doesn't have the heart to tell her aunt that, not when she can't explain what the initial problem is without exposing the whole situation. She doesn't want Aunt Mito to worry about things outside of hers or anyone's control. It would be useless to do so.

She goes out with Gon one day, under the guise of needing to get out of the house and collect more supplies. Not a complete lie, not really, but there's something in the back of her head is constantly telling her to stay close to him today. It's annoying and worrisome, so she tries her best to keep up with her twin, even when he goes into the deeper part of the forest most people tend to avoid, where there are animals easily ten times the size of both of them put together walking about. Large and aggressive, they will not take kindly to a person in their territory.

Mei keeps herself busy by filling her basket with herbs, some of them medicinal and others able to stop a man's heart in a matter of minutes if he swallows enough. She doesn't need the latter type per se, not right now anyway, but she has a feeling the world outside of Whale Island isn't a kind place. When Gon actually decides to leave, then Mei would prefer being as prepared for anything as she possibly can. She just has to figure a way to get a book on mixing poisons without alerting Uncle Eli, if he even has one that is. He'd tell her it isn't a proper topic for a young lady to be interested in and might even tell Aunt Mito and Mei definitely can't have that.

Gon ran off about ten minutes ago, not far too Mei hopes since he said he saw something that interested him. She wouldn't be concerned about it, but there birds making quite a ruckus now, their calls loud and fearful. Not too much of uncommon occurrence since birds tend to startle easily, but something deep in Mei's bones tells her that something isn't right. She decides to listen to that feeling since it involves Gon.

Picking her way through the denser forest isn't the easiest feat, not when her dress snags on branches and her face gets scratched. She calls Gon's name a few times, each repetition rising in volume slightly as she follows a barely visible path. Mei tries not to worry when he doesn't answer back, but by the sixth time she calls his name, the acrid taste of worry and fear clings to the back of her throat as the increasing silence is her only answer. It only gets worse when she sees the claw marks on the trees, deep grooves meticulously place, territory markings for something big and possibly extremely dangerous.

Mei isn't very religious, but in this moment she prays and prays and prays.

. .

* * *

. .

Finding Gon takes longer than Mei would have liked, she's dirty and sweaty, but none of that matters when she finally finds her brother in a clearing, sitting on a log next to some stranger she swears she's never seen before, but her heart twists something furious at the sight of him, like recognizing an old friend. She ignores it, one track mind only focusing on making sure her brother is okay.

"Gon!" She shouts instead, relief causing the weight of worry to leave her shoulders as she makes her way over. It only lasts for a second, though, until she finally sees the state her brother is in, his shirt ripped and bloody, and bandages wrapped around his arms. "What happened to you?"

"Mei!" Gon smiles, sounds no worse for wear, his eyes shining like they always do when he learns something exciting. "This is Kite, he saved my life!"

 _I didn't ask._ Mei wants to say, wants to _snap_ , but deems that comment less than important when her brother's hasty introduction finally hits her.

"Saved your –" she starts, but cuts herself off, looks between Gon and the stranger now known as Kite, who seems mildly confused, probably can't understand a thing they're saying. She breathes in through her nose and out through her mouth, ignores the fact that the back of her eyes burn, she's always been a frustrated crier or maybe it's the relief that's making her eyes sting. She did think the worst for a second. "I'm glad you're okay."

" _Kite, this is my sister, Mei."_ Gon switches languages so quickly that Mei has to think about what he said for a second. He's always been better at speaking Common than her, if only for the fact that he's the one that talks to the tourists and island visitors more often.

" _Nice to meet you."_ Kite nods, he's got sharp features and a willowy frame, Mei's almost jealous of how pristine he looks in the middle of the forest.

" _Nice to meet you, too."_ She says carefully, plops herself down on the log next to Gon, and resists the urge to examine her brother's bandages. He obviously didn't do them himself and something tells her that Kite is trustworthy enough to have properly taken care of Gon's wounds.

Gon leans his weight on Mei's shoulder, content with the current situation. " _Mei, Kite says he knows Ging. He was going to tell me about him, but then you came. Now you can hear about him too."_

" _I was."_ Kite confirms, looks happy with the thought of sharing what he knows about their father, already endeared to the twins despite just meeting them.

When Kite speaks of Ging, there is awe in his tone, a sort of reverence that Mei cannot relate to. Ging changed the man's life after all, showed him skills that very few people possess, and allowed him to be a student, of course Kite respects him. Hunters are the best of the best, and Kite makes Ging sound like the best of them all. Mei can't doubt it though, if Ging was bad at his job he probably would be dead already, or have come home in defeat. He hasn't done the latter, hasn't even written home from what she knows.

She tries not to be jealous of the fact that Kite has seen more of her father than she ever has, tries not to be angry that her father seems to have no interest in her or her brother. It works a little bit; she doesn't blame Kite for Ging's lack of parenting at least. He didn't seem to have known of the twins' existence until today after all.

" _Aunt Mito told us that he was dead._ " Gon says after the story is done, enraptured and filled with awe.

" _It was for both your benefits then."_ Kite reasons, _"Being a Hunter is a dangerous job, she probably didn't want you two chasing after him."_

That's understandable, Mei can't be angry at Aunt Mito for caring, even if it meant lying. Mei couldn't fully believe that lie anyway, not when Ging didn't have a grave, even an empty one. Whale Island, with its small number of inhabitants, is a place of tradition. Even those that die out at sea, who bodies can't be recovered, get their own grave markers, simple things so that their families have a place to mourn if need be.

But there is confirmation now that Ging is undoubtedly alive and Gon will decide to become a Hunter, this is what Mei is sure of.

. .

* * *

. .

Kite leaves a few minutes after his story is done, says he won't stay on the island since what he came looking for isn't here. Gon is sad to see him go so soon, but he accepts it. He's used to people leaving the island after short visits.

From the underbrush Mei sees a small animal emerge. She nudges her brother's shoulder gently and watches as his eyes light up at the sight of the creature. He crouches down, slow and careful, lets the animal come towards him and smiles brightly when it lets him lift it up in his arms.

"It's a foxbear cub." Gon explains, standing and adjusting his hold.

Mei rises from her place on the log and makes her way to the two of them, shifting some of her hair out of her face. "I thought they were called kits."

"I think either one works, but I think most people say cub."

"Where's the mother? I thought they were supposed to be really protective of their babies."

"They are," Gon sighs, looking regretful for a moment, an odd expression for him to wear. "I accidentally walked into her territory and she got mad and attacked me, so that's when Kite showed up and saved me. I told him not to kill the baby because I was going to take care of him and I will. I promised."

"I'm sure you can do it, Gon." She says, no form of doubt or speculation in her tone. "We're just going to have to convince Aunt Mito to let us keep a foxbear of all things around the house."

"We've never asked for a pet before and we're really responsible." Gon defends, holds the cub closer to his chest.

Mei sighs, Gon doesn't like lying so she'll probably have to deal with this. "Okay, I can tell Aunt Mito how you found it since we can't have her knowing you nearly died and you probably don't want to tell her about Kite since he told us about Ging. You can give her all the reasons why we're responsible enough to take care of an animal that's impossible to domesticate."

"Okay!" He nods, excited and happy. "Do you wanna hold him since he has to get used to people. My arm is starting to sting a little too."

She looks down at the cub who's already looking comfortable with the idea of held. He's cute and fluffy, a bit dirty, but all animals are. When Mei nods and holds her arms out, Gon moves the cub as gently as he can, not to jostle him too much.

Mei ends up holding him like a baby, an arm supporting the cub's fuzzy rump and letting him rest his head on her shoulder. When his wet nose brushes against her neck, she tries not jump. Gon lets her carry the cub, which has decided to name Kon, all the way back home, mostly because Kon fell asleep and the fact that his scratched up shoulders doesn't make carrying a bag and a sleepy mass of fur easy.

It's dark by the time the get back home, dinner is being prepared, if not done already, and Mei has to give Gon a gentle shove from where he stands frozen in the doorway for ten seconds.

"Aunt Mito, we're home!" Gon calls, the noise causing Kon to stir but not wake up.

"Welcome back." Aunt Mito returns, head popping around the corner and the smile that was on her face drops quickly. "What happened to you two, you look a mess."

Mei takes over, slides up next to her brother and smiles. "There was some trouble, but we're back, and we brought something home."

Aunt Mito purses her lips in a thin line, hands placed on her hips. "It doesn't have anything to do with whatever that is you're holding does it?"

"His name is Kon and he's an orphan and Gon promised to take care of him." Mei has learned it's a whole lot easier to not beat around the bush with her aunt, she can always tell when either of the twins are trying to stall for time.

"What even is…Kon?"

"A foxbear…" Gon pipes up, hands nervously wringing behind his back.

"A foxbear?" Aunt Mito places a hand over her mouth, eyes wide and darting between the two children. "How did you two even come across a foxbear cub of all things?"

"Like I said, he's an orphan. His mother was killed by a hunter not native to the island." That's practically the entire truth, so Mei doesn't feel that bad for saying that much and she definitely doesn't feel bad about leaving out the part where Gon nearly got killed. "He scratched up Gon a little because he was scared, but it's alright. The wounds are wrapped and treated, so they shouldn't get infected."

"I want to raise him so he doesn't hate people." Gon takes on a tone that's decidedly stubborn, already convinced that he'll be able to accomplish this feat, he just needs the okay to start it. "He already really likes me and Mei."

"And he isn't freaking out even though he's in the house, so he must like you too or think this place is safe at least."

"It's probably because he's tired and overwhelmed." Aunt Mito sighs and shakes her head a little. "Dinner is ready and I have to think about letting you two keep a foxbear as a pet. It would be easier if you two wanted a dog or a cat or even a bird, but of course not. We'll discuss this after we eat, but for now, you two wash up."

Even though Aunt Mito hasn't given a sure answer, Gon looks convinced that he's gotten approval already. "What do we do with Kon?"

"Leave him in the bathroom for now since that'll be the easiest to clean up if he makes a mess."

The twins nod, remove their dirt covered shoes, and slip past Aunt Mito and towards the bathroom. Now that they're older, a little bigger, they're starting to realize that the sink really isn't made for two people, but they make it work, taking in each other's reflection in the mirror, pressed together from shoulder to foot.

"We're pretty dirty, huh?" The questions rhetorical and truth behind Mei's makes her cringe a little. She's got dirt on face and leaves in hair and it's glaringly obvious that she hasn't been sleeping right for the past couple of weeks.

Gon hums, gently begins tugging the foreign objects out of Mei's hair. "You can have the bath first after dinner if you want."

"Thanks, Gon." Mei sighs and lets her shoulders sag a little, the movement is enough to make Kon curious and he pushes his paws against Mei's shoulder, tilting his head to examine Gon.

"Hello!" He coos, scratches behind the cub's ear with his finger and to Mei, he adds, "Aunt Mito probably has the table set by now, so we should hurry."

"There should be some dirty towels in the hamper. Think we should lay those down so Kon has a place to sit that isn't the tile floor?"

Gon nods, goes to the hamper, and digs a few towels out. Mei slips one back in when she notices it's one from the newest set, one that's extremely fluffy and white. She likes Kon, but she doesn't want to run the risk of him ruining something that Aunt Mito would notice right away. Towels apparently aren't cheap.

Once the little nest is made, Mei finally sets the foxbear cub down, her arms feeling strangely light once the little one is on the floor. Kon sniffs around curiously while the twins do their best to clean up in the sink together, weaving between their feet and brushing against their ankles. Suds and warm water cling to the mirror and they both go through a new wash cloth and hand towel each by the time they hope they're clean enough to please Aunt Mito. That probably won't happen until they actually take their baths tonight, but those will have to wait until after dinner.

Getting out the bathroom without Kon following is a bit of a chore, has to be done with both of them pressed against the door and slipping between the smallest possible open one at a time. It ends with the twins tripping over each other and landing with a rather large thump onto the floor, limbs tangled together. The sound they made on impact is loud enough that Aunt Mito hears and tells them to come eat.

Dinner is good, the meal consisting of a duck Aunt Mito got from a trader, some fresh vegetables from Aunt Vera's garden, and freshly baked bread with the homemade butter Uncle Eli likes to bring over on some days. Conversation is good like always, a little awkward if only for the fact that Mei has to constantly shoot Gon looks and kick his ankle when he gets too close to mentioning what exactly happened today. Aunt Mito doesn't seem to notice anything different and the twins can't tell if Granny Abe picked up on their behavior, not when she tends not mention things until the most opportune times, but she does smile in a way that seems like she knows something.

When dinner is done and dessert served and eaten, Aunt Mito takes the twins to the living room. They immediately sit on the couch, backs straight and close enough to each other that their knees touch.

Aunt Mito takes her place on the armchair across from them, her eyes serious and asks, "So why should I let you two raise Kon?"

"Because I promised!" Is Gon's immediate answer, simple but straight to the point like he always is.

"I know you promised Gon, but promises don't amount to anything if you can't properly execute them."

Aunt Mito's answer is enough to cause a silence to hang in the air. It's not awkward, but it's certainly the kind that you can't just blurt something out and hope for the best. Mei always picks up on it sooner than Gon does, the fact that when their aunt says stuff like this, questions that can't easily be rebutted, she means for a sort of lesson to come out of it, or at least for them to really think about the answer they're going to give, because it'll be important to her decision.

"I can read some books on foxbears, Uncle Eli is bound to have some in his shop and Gon's really good with animals in general." Mei starts, hands folded in her lap and words picked carefully. "Raising Kon won't be easy, but we've never done anything halfway, Aunt Mito. You know that.

"We'll clean up all his messes and fix anything he breaks." Gon adds hastily, a good point since having a technically wild animal hanging around is bound to have its share of messes.

"He'll prefer to be outside most of the time anyway and we'll clean him before he comes into the house."

"I'll catch all his food and teach him how to hunt and everything!"

"He's already attached to Gon, so he'll be around the house anyway."

"Fine, okay." Aunt Mito sighs, convinced, though still a little wary about the idea it seems. "You guys can keep him and I'll even let him stay in the house since he's so small. As soon as he gets too big or breaks something irreplaceable, he's out of the house."

"Thank you so much, Aunt Mito. We love you!" The twins chirp in tandem, rise from their chair and gives the adult two sloppy kisses on her cheeks.

"I love you guys too." She laughs, returns their affection with tight hugs and kisses of her own.

. .

* * *

. .

It's late by the time the twins can finally go to bed. They had to clean up the mess Kon made in the bathroom, feed him a meal that consisted of fruits and some raw fish, and stay outside with him in the backyard so he could do his business. After chasing him halfway down the hill, Gon offered to keep him entertained inside their room while Mei finally took her bath. She would have felt bad for soaking in the tub longer than normal, but Gon ended up doing the same thing, though his was slightly longer since he decided to take up the task of giving Kon a bath so he wouldn't stink up the room too badly.

Gon's out like a light after he hazily brushes Mei's hair and lets his head finally hit the pillow. Mei doesn't mind having to push him this way and that so he doesn't take up over half the bed sprawled out since it doesn't wake him in end.

Kon finds his way in the bed despite having a blanket on the floor, not that Mei can blame him. She lets the cub sleep snug under her arm, having a feeling he'll move in the middle of the night if he gets uncomfortable.

Despite how tired Mei is, something isn't letting her go to sleep. Now that everything is quiet, there's nothing to take her mind off things she tries to ignore. Like how devastated she felt when Gon found the Hunter License Kite dropped, the way her brother looked at it stirred something deep in her heart. It felt a little like failure, a little like losing something important.

She doesn't know why.

If Gon's interested in being a Hunter, that's his choice, Mei will follow him to the ends of Earth, but it's still his choice, like it would be hers to trail after him like always. To make sure he's okay, to make sure he doesn't get hurt too badly, to make sure he doesn't forget her. When Gon has his mind set on something, nothing can stop him, and _oh_ that rings a chord in her heart.

Mei thinks of her odd dreams and the fact Gon is always, _always_ the one to leave and wonders if she can stop all those things from happening.

(Maybe not)

(but she _hopes_ she _hopes_ she _**hopes**_ )

. . .

* * *

 _ **chapter 3**_

 _"Just live. I'll be walking beside you every step of the way."  
~me before you (2016)_

* * *

. . .

 **A/N:**

We did it kids! We hit canon territory, kinda, sorta? I mean Kite showed up and that's definitely progress. I say give it between 1-3 chapters before we really hit canon territory, but also I can't make promises like that, since I'm mostly a _plan as i write_ type of writer so who knows what'll happen between now and when the kids hit 12 years old. Shrugging emoji. Also lots of Gon  & Mei interactions, i hope you loved them as much as i did.

Anyways, thank you so much for reading first time readers and people who are returning alike! Don't be afraid to tell me how you think I'm doing with the story as a whole or just with Mei in general. I won't be offended about constructive criticism as long as it's constructive! Your thoughts about my child are what I love seeing, because I love her and I want you guys to love her too.

Also I made a tumblr (the url is **wishedbones . tumlr . com** ) for this story where I post/reblog things about this story. Feel free to leave questions about Mei and all stuff like that there if you have any. I just want to talk to people about this fic all the time, especially when I'm in the middle of writing a chapter! Stop by and visit!


	5. chapter four

**Rating:** T

 **Warnings:** Mentions of a creepy guy. (Honestly if I do this, I might as well make Hisoka a warning whenever he shows up but here we are)

 **A/N:**

I 100% did not mean for y'all to go without a chapter for so long. School caught up with me really hard which then led to writers block. Honestly I don't even know how I wrote and edited a chapter in a day. (Sorry for any mistakes. I try my best and I'll fix them if they're glaringly obvious and terrible.) But here we are. I wanted this chapter to be longer, but given the idea I have for next, I didn't want y'all to deal with too many mood whiplashes so shorter chapter it is but hopefully update sooner than this last one.

I also kinda messed up the ages in the last chapter because I wrote it before finding a wonderful hxh timeline, but I am fixing it with this chapter so that means we'll hit canon things sooner. Probably in the chapter after next!

I forgot how much I love writing for Mei and how easy it is to write for this fic and I love it so much.

Thank you all so much for the favorites, follows, and reviews this story got during that mini-hiatus. I appreciate it so, so much.

. . .

* * *

 ** _chapter 4_**

 _an old story, twice retold_

* * *

. .

"Mei, you seem distracted today. You know that's no good." Doctor Vonne says, the sudden sound of her voice causing Mei to startle more than she'd like to admit.

"S-sorry, ma'am." Mei says once she's calm, knowing that her being startled so easily just proved a point. "I don't mean to be, I just have a lot on my mind I guess. Gon and I have to go off the Island soon to take finals for the year. I guess I'm a little worried."

The older woman doesn't look convinced, red painted lips pursed in a thin line and hands on her hips as she stares at her apprentice. "You know I'm not a fan of being lied to Mei Freecss. You have never once worried about school enough to be _this_ distracted."

The easy callout to her lie makes Mei hunch her shoulders in a mix of shame and embarrassment. She tries to go back to the task she was originally doing, properly organizing patient files like she does at the start of every month. It's calming and easy work, mindless enough that she can let her mind wander without there being any consequences to how the quality of the work turns out. Not today, she supposes, Doctor Vonne has had a close eye on her these past few weeks after all.

"What's the problem, dear?" Doctor Vonne says, her voice a touch softer. "You know you can talk to me about anything."

The declaration makes something bloom deep in Mei's chest, happiness and something else just as pure. She knows a lot of people love and care for her, knows it better than she knows most things, but verbal validation has a way to make her feel emotional and relieved knowing she really is wanted and loved.

"Well," Mei pauses, biting the inside of her cheek softly as she thinks of a way to word her question. It'll be strange and a bit sudden to ask, but she was told that she could share. "I was wondering if you know how to fight."

"I do." Doctor Vonne says, not particularly taken aback by the question. "It was a common practice where I came from to teach the young girls how to fight, to at least defend themselves if not how to wield a weapon if they so chose to further that learning. Why do you want to know?"

"I'm getting older." Mei states, her tenth birthday in less than a month, it's exciting and worrying all at once. Time is passing so quickly, she sometimes doesn't know what to do with the dwindling days. "Aunt Mito talked to me and Gon about puberty and body changings and being careful when we're alone, especially during tourist season since there are some pretty bad people that stop by sometimes. And…and just a couple weeks ago, some guy was following me when I walked Noko home. It was nighttime and not really that busy, so I knew he was there and I could smell the alcohol on him, it was so strong. I don't think Noko noticed at least, so I was glad I was with her.

"He was still following me when I dropped Noko off since she lives in town proper and when I met up with Gon, he noticed the guy immediately and beat him up for being a creep." Mei bites her cheek once more, small hand wringing the fabric of her skirt. Doctor Vonne is silent still, waiting for her to continue. "Gon loves me a lot and I know he wants to protect me and I'm glad he does. But…but Aunt Mito told us to protect _each other,_ so I want to be able to protect Gon or make it so he doesn't have to protect me all the time even though he'll try. It's no good for either of us if he gets hurt trying to protect me."

They agreed not to tell Aunt Mito about what happened that night, knowing it would break her heart and send her into a tizzy. Mei is young, she knows, and small and feels smaller than she's ever felt knowing she's so defenseless. But she thinks of her dreams where Gon is bleeding and angry and knows that this world isn't kind even to someone her age.

This is a world that won't adapt to her, so she'll have to adapt to it.

"I'll teach you." Doctor Vonne says, conviction in her voice and shining in her dark eyes. "Your medical training is more or less complete since you're more akin to my assistant than my apprentice, so we can make time. Come by my house this Saturday after you have lunch and we can begin then and make a schedule. However, I don't want you to keep this from Mito. If you come home with bruises, she shouldn't be fretting over you because she doesn't know where they came from."

Mei feels the corner of her lips turn down slightly at the thought of telling Aunt Mito. There will be a long lecture about safety and questions attached about why she wants to learn how to fight. Then again, maybe not, since she has already trusted Doctor Vonne with Mei's medical training, this is just another thing to add. There's nothing wrong with knowing a bit of self-defense, especially to a child as independent as Mei.

She agrees to the terms and feels lighter the rest of the day for it.

. .

* * *

. .

At dinner during a lull in the conversation is when Mei decides to bring up the conversation she had with Doctor Vonne. If they get into a fight about it, Mei knows she can stuff vegetables or a roll in her mouth to keep from accidentally yelling back.

"Aunt Mito," Mei starts, trying hard to keep the waver out of her voice. Aunt Mito isn't a mean woman and doesn't often say no without good reasons, but this is something Mei fervently hopes she gets the okay to do. "Doctor Vonne said she's going to teach me how to fight. I can take the lessons right?"

That gets everyone's attention at the table. Granny Abe looks amuses as she raises a forkful of fish to her mouth and Gon tilts his head to the side curiously and in mid-chew and Aunt Mito raises an eyebrow.

"Can I ask why?" Aunt Mito asks, placing her fork down and inclining her body so she faces Mei better, lets her know this conversation is serious and gets her full attention.

Mei swallows down a quick drink of water and exhales, preparing her speech. "She said my medical training is pretty much done, so I thought it would be neat to learn something new. Plus you told us to be more careful during tourist season coming up, and there's no better way for me to do that than learning how to defend myself. I don't go into the forest to wrestle wild animals like Gon does, so I need the practice."

Gon's affronted _hey_ is drowned out in favor of Aunt Mito's sigh. "Your brother doesn't go into the forest to fight wild animals; at least I hope he doesn't. But you are right, I did tell you that. I don't exactly like the idea of you learning how to fight, but your reason is sound and I trust Vonne, so I approve. Just don't get yourself too hurt."

Her smile turns bright, a heavy weight lifted from her shoulders. "Thank you so much, Aunt Mito. I'll be careful!"

Dinner goes on like it always does with simple conversations and the twins occasionally teasing one another and discreetly kicking each other under the chair. Mei cleans the table once it's all done, stacking plates, and wrapping up leftovers for lunch while Gon is in charge of washing the dishes. Both twins sneak Kon scraps of whatever can't be salvaged when Aunt Mito's back is turned, lest she scolds them and says that their constant feeding of the foxbear is the reason he has grown so much in such a few short months. Already, Kon is a little pass the children's knees and learning the fine art of walking on two legs. It's amusing to see him toddle around the house and help him stand when he stumbles.

Different bathing habits cause the kids to have to wait on each other once it's time to wind down for the night. Gon prefers filling the tub with as many bubbles as he can without getting in trouble for being wasteful, and Mei likes it best when she can slip scented oils and soothing herbs in hers to help relax better. Luckily, neither of them take too long and are both nice and clean behind the ears no more than an hour and a half after dinner.

"Do you think Aunt Mito would have had a problem with me learning how to fight if I was a boy?" Mei can't help but ask as Gon runs a comb through her still damp hair.

"I don't think so." Gon says, though with a touch of uncertainty is in his voice. "She always complains about me going off into the forest."

"Of course she does, because you come back all scraped and dirty."

"True, and Aunt Mito worries about us, but I think she knows that we can look after ourselves and still be okay. She taught us how to since she used to do a lot when she was our age."

"I guess." Mei sighs and adjusts herself slightly when she feels Gon braiding her hair. It's getting longer, past her shoulders and extremely thick as it, it isn't optimal to have it loose and free all the time, especially when the Island is always so humid. "Plus she started taking care of us when she was what, thirteen? That's young."

"Granny Abe was there to help her and some of the neighbors, but yeah, it was mostly Aunt Mito." Gon flicks the end of her braid when he's done, flopping down back on the bed with an exhale of breath. "Mei, how come you wanna learn how to fight?"

Mei flops back on the bed as well, turning on her side so she can face her brother. She can see the scars on his arms from when he first met Kon, a stark pale against the brown of his skin, but fading every day he spends out in the sunlight.

"You know why." She says and neither of them has to mention the man that tried to follow her home. He isn't completely the reason for her decision anyway. "I want to be able to keep you safe too."

Gon's freckled nose wrinkles. "You don't have to, you know?"

"I think I do." Mei says firmly and tries not to have a repeat of the conversation they had before Kite showed up. "I can bandage you up just fine, but I should learn how to throw a punch too." It's nice that she can heal hurts and soothe fevers, but that won't help her all the time.

This, she know.

. . .

* * *

. .

Saturday comes around quickly; Mei ensures that all her homework is done for the week so she doesn't have to worry about it later. If Doctor Vonne teachers her how to fight the same way she taught Mei about medical practice, then she expects it to be somewhat brutal. Doctor Vonne is a no nonsense type of teacher and Mei hopes she's ready for whatever happens.

When Mei knocks on the door, it is Doctor Vonne's husband that answers. She's only met him a few times, but she likes him regardless. He owns a couple of sheep and a cow and a goat and makes money off of the milk and cheese and wool produced. Mei has helped tend to the animals a few times and knows they're loved and well cared for. The cow even had a calf a couple months ago from what she remembers.

"Hello, Mei." He says and opens the door wider so she can enter. "Vonne's down in the basement, you can go ahead and meet her there."

"Thank you, Mister Leon." Mei bows politely, taking her shoes off at the door before heading to where she knows the basement is located.

It's a cool and well-lit space, obviously used a lot outside of whatever basements are used for. Doctor Vonne is there, normal flowing clothes traded for comfortable looking pants and a sleeveless shirt. With her arms uncovered, Mei notices for the first time how toned her mentor's arms are. She did say young girls were taught how to fight where she was from, it would make sense if she kept up the regime.

"I'm glad you could make it." The older says, gaze searching in a way that reminds Mei of when they first met. "How does practice every other day before the clinic opens sound and around this time on Saturdays?"

"Fine." Mei says slowly, still thinking, "Doesn't the clinic open at eight?"

"It does, so I expect you to show up between five and five thirty. Any later and I'm going back to bed. Leon will be awake tending to the animals, so you can go help him if that happens."

That means getting up a couple hours earlier than she's used to, but that seems fair. It's more important to have the clinic open on time rather than late, and if it means having to adjust her sleep schedule, then so be it. It'll be a lot easier to manage once summer hits, plus it'll be an every other day thing.

Mei nods her head once she's sure. "That'll work just fine."

Doctor Vonne smirks, looks pleased, and sits cross-legged on the ground, a position that Mei mimics.

"Good, then let's begin."

. . .

* * *

. .

Training with Doctor Vonne starts off with this: talking, lots of it. Mei gets it drilled into her that though Doctor Vonne knows a very specific and very dangerous fighting style, she's only teaching Mei enough to protect herself and others. Mei isn't to fight just for the sake of fighting; there can be glory in that and thrill and prizes, because this world is full of fighters and spectators all thirsting for bloodshed, but it can cause unnecessary hurts and deaths just going after the strongest looking person in the room.

Mei is a healer and as such, is a precious commodity to the world. If she dies in a fight that she could have easily avoided by using her common sense, then that would be a shame. That's why Doctor Vonne also teaches her how to keep calm and properly access a situation before jumping into action. Always look for an exit first if she's able and if not, see if she can incapacitate her opponent as quickly as possible.

"I'd suggest trying to keep your nails a bit longer." Doctor Vonne had said one day, examining Mei's trimmed nails. "No one ever expects you to go for the eyes, but if you can, you should. It should earn you a few precious seconds."

Through warmups, Mei learns that one of her best physical traits is her stamina and her small size that grants her extra bit of speed and quick reaction time. She learns that if she can tire a person out when finding an escape turns difficult, then that's just as good. Doctor Vonne even teaches her how to avoid being backed into a corner and how to tie her hair up quickly in a way that it leaves it too short to just be grabbed.

She learns the best places to hit to cause shortness of breath and how much force to put behind a swing to knock someone out. Mei learns that she prefers using her knees and elbows if she can rather than palms and fists, not wanting to damage her hands like she did the first time she threw a punch and sprained her thumb because she was being hasty. That is, however, when she also learned she has a recovery speed as quick as Gon, so she supposes that was helpful.

Aunt Mito learns not to fret so much when Mei comes home sore and bruised when the spars start, used to her children coming home hurt but smiling the entire time. Gon isn't as kind, poking at the newly formed bruises until Mei swats his fingers away, both of them giggling.

Mei even teaches Gon a few stretches. Soon, both twins spend time together stretching each morning and night, conversations usually had while they're both doing splits and have their upper bodies leaning against their legs. It's a bit of a challenge to keep the conversation going, but that's what makes it half the fun.

"You're so strong, Mei." Gon coos one day and compares his own developing muscles that came from constant swinging around the trees.

They pat each other's arms in admiration and fall into a pile of laughter, unable to keep the faux seriousness they've seen on the faces of judges and too stern adults.

While the children grow, Kon grows too. The months fly by and he's gotten big enough where he isn't allowed in the house anymore and is growing bigger still. The children visit him often, splashing around in the river and fishing for hours in the company of other animals attracted by their happiness and pure hearts.

The children grow and change and become better for it, their tenth year passes in simplicity and love.

. . .

* * *

. .

The June heat this year is a sweltering beast and the twins have noticed a lot of their chores involve water or staying inside where it's cool. Today is a nice day, a small breeze stirring to fend off most of the heat while Gon, Mei, and Aunt Mito do the laundry together.

"I want to take the Hunter Exam." Gon says so suddenly that it might have been misheard if not for the serious look in his eyes.

Aunt Mito pauses her scrubbing, elbow deep in water and suds all over her arms. She looks like she's holding her breath and maybe she is. When she exhales, it's all breathy laughter, a small shake of her head like she can't believe the words that were just spoken.

"I must have misheard you. I'm sorry."

"You didn't," Gon says again, consonants clipped and firm. "I want to take the Hunter Exam next year in January."

Aunt Mito's mouth open and closes, her lips suddenly pale. Mei knows this isn't fair, springing this on her like this on such a nice day, but there's no better way to bring up this topic. She knows it must tear Gon up too, seeing their aunt react like this, but he's stubborn if anything.

"Gon Freecss, wha-" she stops, has to start all over again. "Where is this coming from?"

"I want to take the Hunter Exam like my old man did…like Ging did. I want to _leave._ " Gon says the word with so much feeling, Mei knows it's a yearning he's had for a while. She's seen him look at Ging's Hunter's License like it might take him beyond the ocean surrounding their island.

Whale Island has always been too small to keep him for long.

"Ab-absolutely not," Aunt Mito says, her voice a rising tide. "You're much too young to be going off."

"Ging did it!" Gon's voice is rising as well to match; he never did have great control over his emotions. "He did it when he was my age, why can't I?"

"Ging is dead! What good is it chasing after a dead man?" She shouts and both the twins flinch.

She must not have meant to say that, there was something too personal in the tone of her voice and the shine of her eyes. Mei wonders if Ging is dead to Aunt Mito in the sense that he's been gone too long to even hope to wish back. It would make sense.

There's that stubborn set to Gon's jaw and Mei can't see what his hands are doing while they're deep in the bucket of water, but she can guess. Blood in the water won't help the clothes get clean.

"He isn't Aunt Mito, we both know he isn't." He continues even when Aunt Mito seems like she might say something else. "I'm not doing it for him either. I love Whale Island and it's my home, but I want to leave. And Ging did it, so I know I can too."

Aunt Mito shakes her head, a firm set to her mouth. "Absolutely not, end of discussion. You are not going anywhere, young man."

"But Aunt – "

"No means no, Gon!" She cuts off, a true mother's tone. "Now finish your chores, please."

Gon doesn't do that, however, instead, he lets out a frustrated noise and rushes back in the house. Mei catches a glimpse of him furiously wiping at his eyes before the front door slams behind him. It's been a while since she's seen Gon cry; the thought of it is a little frightening.

Aunt Mito sighs, the expression on her face making her look older than her twenty-four years and Mei feels older than her eleven. She gets both of their frustrations and is glad she avoided being in the middle of the fight, however, short as it was. It feels like it went on for ages, maybe she should have said something to alleviate the tension that quickly grew to bursting.

"Did you know what he wanted to leave?" Aunt Mito asks even though Mei is more than positive she already knows the answer to that question.

"He's always wanted to leave, do more, see more." Mei answers anyway, goes back to scrubbing one of her shirts clean. The water's gone ice cold, it's not comforting anymore. "It's not that hard to notice."

"Of course it isn't." Aunt Mito laughs and she sounds a little bitter, a little sad. "He's so much like his father it's almost frightening. Ging…Ging isn't the best of men, definitely not the best of fathers, so I was hoping Gon wouldn't want to follow in his footsteps."

Mei thinks of all the times she and Gon have been told how much they are or are not like Ging, how people will look at them and only see what their father has left behind. Compared to a man they don't even remember meeting, living up to legacies they know nothing about, being judged in ways they can't comprehend. It makes her uncomfortable and angry. She doesn't know how Gon feels about it; never found the need to bring it up.

Maybe it has to do with the fact that the people don't see _them_ for _them_ , only see the fact that Ging isn't here and it doesn't seem like he's coming back so they've settled on the second best. The twins are never even referred to as _Mito's kids_ when addressed despite the fact that she raised them, that in and of itself is probably the most insulting thing to Mei: when all the credit goes to Ging.

"I don't think it's that." Mei says finally. Her load is done and her hands are wrinkled. "Ging left us to be a Hunter. We're second best in his eyes, so I think Gon wants to see what's so great about being a Hunter if it means you'll abandon family and not even write a simple letter to them."

"You're so smart, Mei." Aunt Mito says, still looking some parts sad but looking some parts pleased as well. "That's why I told you he was dead, you know? It was the easiest way to explain his absence. He's the most selfish man I know, and you kids shouldn't have had to deal with knowing he left you for his job of all things. But I guess I was selfish for keeping the truth from you both as well, huh?"

"Yeah," Mei says and looks up at the sky, sees three birds headed north. "but at least you're here with us."

. . .

* * *

 _ **chapter 4**_

 _"Someone has to leave first. This is a very old story. There is no other version of this story."_

 _~Richard Siken_

* * *

 **A/N:**

Man, I love Ging but he is a literal trash man and the scene at the end of the chapter was literally what I've been waiting to get to since the start of this fic, that and other scenes, but this is definitely my top 5. If you have never been near a really intense fight between a parent and a sibling then I can't even convey how awkward and terrible it feels. At least that's how it was to me and there were some heated fights. Not as many Gon and Mei interactions as I would have liked, but I have a big ol pre-written scene that I'm very excited to slap in next chapter and expand on!

Also Mei learning how to fight with Vonne was something I had planned for a while since I have the image of Vonne being a beautiful role model for Mei and being the cool second aunt but also the aunt that isn't afraid to tell you when you fuck up?

I got a couple of comments last time saying they were worried about me possibly writing Mei as being dependent on Gon probably from the way a conversation last chapter went and yep that is currently what I am doing. Now, hear me out, Mei is a child with a mentality leaning more towards an adult. That is a cognitive dissonance that she's stumbling through on most days. She also has those dream about future events, they haven't been frequent lately because there has been nothing to really trigger them, as seen in chapter 3. She is allowing herself to dependent on Gon because that is her brother, her twin, he is a constant in everything she goes through. Also remember the great canon convo/argument when Gon was like "I'm allowed to die, but you aren't Killua." Mei is a slightly unreliable narrator in the fact that in her eyes, Gon can do no real wrong and come out of everything 110% because he's so admirable and whatnot. She does not view herself in as much of a positive light as she does Gon.

This is bad! This is something she has to learn to work through, so it's obviously not a trope I want to write her in forever. I crave character development that isn't a pretty little slide upwards. HxH is not a happy series and Mei is going to go through some realizations, just wait. We are only like 5 chapters in. SO that's all about that!

Also, I'm very interested in the inner workings of the Zoldyck family so this had made me want to write a twin!fic for Killua. The difference with that is it won't be an SI or semi-SI, just a regular OC. If I do it, I will also be writing the twin (which will be female) and Alluka as trans girls since canon pretty much implies the Zoldycks only have dmab in the family. That and Alluka is a canon trans girl and I will fight everyone who tries to say otherwise, but that isn't a conversation for here.

So tell me what you guys think about that idea and if it gets enough idk approval, I'll try to hash stuff out for it when school ends or just do it anyway because assassin families seem interesting to write for.

That's all. Sorry I was really wordy in this last note, but it's been a long time.

Remember, I love hearing thoughts about how things are going, so please leave a comment!


	6. chapter five

**Rating:** T

 **Warnings:** None

 **A/N:**

Don't look at me, I know it's been a year since I posted a chapter like I can't believe this is happening. I've been mostly posting my writings elsewhere (check my profile if you wanna get the deets) but huh. I've just rewatching yyh which then made me rewatch hxh which then gave me a big ol inspiration for this chapter. I don't really know what to say besides hello! new readers! and welcome back those who are bothering to return! hopefully next time the wait for a chapter won't be so long.

please enjoy the chapter!

...

* * *

 _ **chapter 5**_

 _the end of something (maybe)_

* * *

..

The silence Gon leaves behind is a strange and heavy sort; it clings to the air and slope of Mei's shoulders, makes reviving the conversation with Aunt Mito harder than it should be. That's what happens when Gon gets upset though, this Mei has learned easily from the few times this has happened in her life. Her twin is raw in his emotions; if he feels anything, everyone in the vicinity will feel it too like the aftershocks of an earthquake. Gon is a boy who feels with his whole entire being. It is something frightening and awe-inspiring to see in a person so young.

"He's not angry at you," Mei finally says once the clothes are washed and ready to be strung up on the lines. She stands at her aunt's elbow as she speaks, watches the woman go through the familiar motions of hanging the clothes up to dry.

Aunt Mito blinks herself out of a daze like her mind is returning from elsewhere, as if she's seeing Mei for the first time all over again.

"Gon isn't angry at you." Mei repeats with as much surety as she can muster, each word carefully enunciated. She knows her words are the truest things she's ever spoken. "He could never be angry at you. He's just…" her voice tapers and trails off then, lost with all the other thoughts she could never properly say out loud. She wants to say _he loves you so much, more than the moon and the sun_. But that doesn't mean that it's enough for him to stay. And that's the kicker isn't it, that he loves but he'll still leave.

"I know he isn't angry," Aunt Mito finally says; her smile soft and eyes still sad as if she knows the words Mei doesn't have the ability to say out loud. "He's just frustrated and stubborn. I doubt he's going to listen to me about not wanting him to leave. His father didn't."

The last part is added with a bitterness so rarely heard in Aunt Mito's tone that it catches Mei by surprise for a moment. It makes her wonder how deep the wound Ging's abandonment really cut, how long it took for the pain to stop, how long it took for it to scab over and scar. Her father and aunt only had each other from what she remembers being told, and then Aunt Mito was left with nothing for years after until she took Mei and Gon into her tender care.

"Do you hate him? Ging, I mean." Mei asks, can't help the question that tumbles past her lips.

It seems valid because Aunt Mito is human, and humans love and hate in equal measure, usually the same person because no one can hurt you the same way that someone you love can. Ging cannot be brought up around Aunt Mito without her lips thinning and shoulders tightening, posture defensive and wary and worried. Ging is a ghost that haunts Aunt Mito's memories just as he is a looming specter that Mei has never recalled ever meeting, yet he is somehow affecting her life so thoroughly, shifting her world on its meager axis.

Aunt Mito freezes in her movements, suntanned fingers stilling where they grip the shoulders of one of Mei's dresses currently half suspended in the air and ready to be placed on the line. She turns around quickly, eyes widened, and the damp daisy yellow fabric clutched tightly against her chest.

"Where would you…" she breathes, disbelieve coating her words. Head shaking, she starts over again. "Mei, does it seem like I hate Ging?"

Mei shrugs, suddenly aware that this was the wrong thing to ask even though she's wondered it since she was old enough to realize that her father was someone that existed and breathed the same island air that she does. That they are family in blood and not much else at this point. A father she has but doesn't necessarily need.

"You always get upset when we bring him up or sad. You lied about him being dead, and now you're upset that Gon wants to be a Hunter like him. I'm just…I'm just curious, that's all."

"I don't hate him," Aunt Mito sighs and places the dress back down into the basket. She crouches to her niece's height, work-calloused hands cupping the young girl's face. "Ging's family and I love him, but that doesn't mean I like everything he does. If Gon left you behind without saying much of anything wouldn't you be hurt too?"

Mei nods immediately, mind flashing to dreams where Gon is no longer island bond and never speaks a word of Mei's existence like she's a ghost to be forgotten and never spoken of. She understands Aunt Mito's hurt in an echo of a way that she hopes she never has to actually experience, but the sting of it is still there, the ache and fear of a realistic possibility haunt her more than it probably should.

"That's what I'm still struggling with after all these years," Aunt Mito admits, a small laugh at her own expense. "but I shouldn't have let it affect your judgment of Ging. He's your father. You both are allowed to form your own opinions about him. I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Aunt Mito." Mei soothes and leans into the comforting cup of the hand against her cheek. "I understand. I'm sure Gon does too, he just...he just really wants this."

"I know he does. It's such a big decision though. I need time. You understand, don't you, Mei?"

"Of course." it doesn't seem like an easy thing, allowing your children, young as they are, to traverse the world like their father before them no matter what age that father was. Whale Island is safe and sheltered and home; the world outside past the expanse of the ocean isn't.

Aunt Mito's smile becomes something warmer, more relief filled. She leans and places a butterfly kiss on the crown of Mei's forehead. "Thank you, sweetheart. Now, go check on your brother for me, won't you?"

..

* * *

..

Gon isn't in the house when Mei looks; it's too cool and quiet as if she's feeling the emptiness of it before she even needs to do a proper search.

His fishing pole is gone from the room, and she knows where he is when he's in a mood like this. There's a small river behind the house that cuts the length of the forest before dropping into the ocean. They don't visit it often anymore, having grown too big for its shallow and tame waters, but the memories of it are a fond sort of comfort. Memories of her and Gon swimming and squishing mud between their fingers and toes and scaling trees while Aunt Mito watched over them with soft smiles and gentle eyes.

There her brother is when she reaches the bank, his body appearing smaller than normal from where he rests against Kon's flank, his fishing pole within arm's reach in the space beside him. Kon is still far from fully grown, but even his juvenile size of an adult wolf makes him formidable and intimidating to anyone that isn't of the Freecss family.

"Hey, Kon," Mei coos her greeting to the foxbear first, letting the great beast snuffle his nose against her side to get in a proper sniff while she scratches at the spot between his eyes. "How are you feeling?" this she directs at Gon who has acknowledged her presence with nothing more than a quick glance in her direction as she walked up.

He shrugs, the sulking unbefitting on his features, but Mei understands. Gon's young and facing his biggest disappointment; he's allowed to sulk a bit if he wants too as long as he doesn't do anything stupid in retaliation.

"Aunt Mito isn't upset with you, you know?" she continues, flopping down on the damp grass next to her brother, their bodies close enough for their shoulders touch, her back leaning against Kon's mass of red-brown fur. It's too hot to be cuddling, but the weather doesn't care what your mood is and what you need for comfort.

"I know," Gon finally admits, thankfully. "I'm not upset with her either. I knew she probably wouldn't say yes the first time I asked, but still…"

"The disappointment doesn't hurt any less because somewhere deep you were hoping she'd agree."

"Yeah," Gon leans until he's resting his head against the curve of Mei's shoulders, wayward black strands of hair ticking her cheeks. "Mei's so smart."

"We're twins. I know you better than anyone, so I know you really want to be a Hunter." _I really know how much you want to leave,_ she doesn't say. "Aunt Mito is worried is all. Being a Hunter is dangerous, so you understand why she got all upset, right?"

"Ging did it, and he was young too." There's a pout clearly evident in his voice, but Mei takes care not to pay too much attention to it.

"Ging also didn't have an older Aunt Mito or an older anyone besides Granny Abe to tell him not to go. He might not have formally told anyone he was leaving if the stories everyone tells are true."

 _He just up and left one day after catching the Lord of the Lake and didn't come back_ , they say with awe in their voices and pride in their eyes. Aunt Mito says the same thing but with a different tune.

"But I told."

"But you told," Mei parrots, maneuvers her hand until her and Gon's fingers are intertwined. "because Aunt Mito deserved being told, and you understand that much even if she would have told you no."

"Do you think I shouldn't go?"

Mei almost immediately says _no, no I don't want you to go_ , but she knows if she does that, Gon really might not go with both her and Aunt Mito protesting his departure. Whale Island can't hold Gon anymore though, not when he hears often about stories of places beyond their shores. The world is cruel, this Mei also knows from a feeling deeply etched into her bones from her dreams where Gon is bloodied and bruised and heart an exposed wire on his sleeve and broken because of it.

She doesn't want her brother to end up like that; doesn't want his wide-eyed and honeyed innocence to disappear. She wants to keep him caught in the snapshot of these years they've had together already, all eleven years tapering backward, a seashell trapped in sediment to be fossilized and preserved. But she can't, and she knows that because she knows Gon better than anyone, and she loves him fiercer than anyone she's ever loved.

If she kept him, it'd be a mercy.

If she kept him, it'd be a sad story all the same.

"I love you, Gon." She says instead, swallows down the sudden surge of emotions choking her throat and tightens their fingers together. "I'd give you all the flowers in the world and all seashells in the sea. I'd give you the sun too if I could. If I knew it would make you stay. But I can't, and I know leaving would make you happier because I don't think you're happy here anymore."

"I am happy here!" Gon interjects, frantic sincerity coating his words as he wiggles around enough to trap Mei in a prison of a crushing hold, pressed so close together that they're now cheek to cheek. "I'm happy here with Mei and Aunt Mito and Granny Abe and Kon. I love you all so much."

"I know you love us Gon." Mei soothes, rubs their cheeks together as a form of affection returned since her arms are trapped. "Just because being somewhere else will make you happier doesn't mean you love someone any less."

"Aunt Mito's worried I might not love her anymore though."

"Aunt Mito knows you love her. She's just worried like I said, and you know she gets super protective when she worries about us."

"That's true," Gon agrees, nerves calmed when he leans them both with enough force to end up on the grass right next to Kon's paws.

The foxbear huffs, damp breath ruffling the strands of the twins' hair as he adjusts his position to accommodate them. It's a muscle memory at this point; having spent months in similar positions curled near them both.

Mei deals with the new position with practiced grace, used to numb limbs and aching shoulders from Gon's near constant need to use her as a pillow. But it's always a comfort to have her brother this close like nothing can separate them in moments such as this where they cling to each other as if they're the only two people in the world.

"I'm happy here." Gon repeats suddenly, voice softer than usual. Soft enough that Mei wouldn't have heard it if she wasn't as close as she currently is.

Mei hums just as delicately, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and holding him close as she can. "I know you're happy here, but you can be happier. It's okay to leave just come back, okay?"

…

* * *

..

It's a long week before Aunt Mito gives an answer, the atmosphere of the house had shifted just a little making it tense enough to be noticeable, to be a little more careful around each other, for the twins to not make a sound as they clean shot glasses and put up rapidly emptying bottles of alcohol.

The Freecss family has always been an emotional one and any collision has always had the tendency to go nova. But it's also a family of careful compromises instead because that's what you do when you love someone enough; you're willing to compromise with them. At least, that's what Mei has learned through example.

So, Aunt Mito compromises with Gon, has a discussion with him after dinner and Mei is ushered out of the room to help Granny Abe with cleaning the dishes. She's a little offended not to be allowed to know what the conversation is about, but it's important for Aunt Mito and Gon to sort this out themselves. Gon'll tell her anyway, the bare bones and important bits at least.

"Do you think Aunt Mito will let Gon go?" Mei can't help but ask once all the dishes are clean, yet the conversation in the other room isn't done yet.

Granny Abe doesn't pause the familiar ministrations of her knitting. "I know there's not much in the world that can hold you or your brother back when you have your minds set on something." And that's all there is to it.

Gon tells her right before they go to sleep that Aunt Mito will let him take the Hunter Exam if he catches the Lord of the Lake before the ship comes to dock in January. He doesn't waver in his conviction, so sure that he'll make it happen, and Mei knows he will.

..

* * *

..

"Can I go with Gon?" Mei asks a few days after the deal between aunt and nephew is struck.

The morning has been spent by pulling fishing nets from the beach's shore so far out that the tourists don't even tread. Both their shoes are gone, and pants rolled up to avoid getting wet, waves lapping at their sandy toes and bare ankles. It's a nice day, no storm on the horizon and the sun is warm and comfortable against their backs and freckled shoulders.

Aunt Mito sighs, hiking the net of fish higher against her shoulder so it won't slip. She cuts a look at Mei from the corner of her eyes, a look of motherly fondness and amusement. "I'm not surprised you asked."

"So, can I go?" Mei asks again, voice raised to match the rising sound of distant crashing waves as not to get drowned out.

"Do you want to go, Mei?"

The girl raises an eyebrow, lips pursed into a frown, confused more than anything. Aunt Mito should know better than anyone that if Gon is going somewhere far away then, of course, Mei wants to be with him. It's simple, really, you aren't supposed to separate twins if you can help it.

"I don't want to leave you alone, but I don't want Gon going alone either."

Aunt Mito sighs once more, a sound to be carried off by the salt-saturated breeze. "I still don't want either of you to leave, but I know it'll be better if you can go together."

Mei expression brightens like the sun peeking from behind storm gray clouds, and she skips forward a few steps, a show of childish excitement so rarely seen these days for reasons Aunt Mito is unable to parse. It's a nice look on her regardless: amber eyes bright, cheeks dimpled, and dark curls springing against her shoulders.

"Thank you, Aunt Mito!" she chirps, her happiness contagious as her aunt spares her own soft smile.

"Just promise me something, Mei Freecss. If you and your brother do end up leaving, promise me you'll keep each other safe."

"Of course," Mei nods, surer than anything.

She'll keep her brother safe if she must, that much she can do. That much she has promised herself to be able to do.

..

* * *

..

It's early June by the time Mei musters up the courage to tell Doctor Vonne that she plans to go with Gon to take the Hunter Exam. It happens at the time between when they've finished training and right before the clinic has to open; a lull in the day where Mei has learned that her mentor is most amicable for conversation.

Doctor Vonne is silent for a long stretch of time after she is told, long enough that Mei begins to worry, anticipation clawing at her gut. Before she can say anything, the doctor speaks, her voice still a neutral cadence despite the sudden drop of information.

"What reasons do you have for taking the Hunter Exam?"

Mei, not expecting the question, falters before answering. "Gon...Gon wants to take it."

"I didn't ask about your brother," Doctor Vonne's words are not unkind, but the blunt way they are delivered causes Mei to shrink in a little on herself regardless. "I asked why _you_ want to take the Exam."

"Gon does," she repeats because it's the simplest reason that she knows why she's taking it. The only reason she needs. "and we're twins. We do a lot of things together. That exam is a big thing; he shouldn't have to take it alone. Besides, Gon's taking it because of Ging, why can't I take it because of Gon?"

"That's not exactly the best reason to risk your life to take it." The older woman states, attention still divided between talking and getting the clinic space ready for the day. The soft sound of her bangles clinging together fill the small pockets of silence.

"We won't die." Mei insists, a frown on her face and fingers curling into the fabric of her poppy red skirt. "We're young, but we won't die."

"Older people have died for less, and no one can ever promise that they won't die." The words are delivered like the cold, hard facts that they are. "It's like a doctor saying they'll save every life that crosses through their door. It's unrealistic."

"You've known me long enough to know I'm not a promise breaker."

Doctor Vonne's sigh is a heavy and weary-sounding thing. "I've also known you long enough to know that you are a child that has never left the safety of her island. That sort of naivety does not mix well with the Hunter Exam."

 _I'm not a child_ Mei almost snaps back immediately but is able to reign herself in. It would only make her seem petulant, after all, even though she hasn't felt truly like a child for some years now. No one really knows, besides Gon, how odd she feels in her own skin sometimes, how it doesn't feel like it really should belong to her. It's no use spilling secrets and insecurities to prove a point, however.

"This world is built on violence, Mei." the doctor continues, her voice taking a tone Mei equates to when she's teaching, when she's gifting her with words that are important but won't be repeated a second time. Doctor Vonne wastes her breath for no one; her only apprentice included. "You can't jump headfirst into it based on your brother's whim when you're not ready."

"It's not a whim," Mei defends, biting the inside of her lip gently before she continues. How can she say how important this is to Gon, how important this is to her? Gon won't stay and that means she can't stay either. She can't be left behind. She won't be left behind. "and I am ready. You've taught me so much about medicine, and that's the most important thing besides how to defend myself, and you taught me that too. You can't ever truly be ready for anything, can you?"

"You got me there," Doctor Vonne relents just a bit, her smile amused, though not happy. "You'll be even better prepared once you're older and have had an actual chance to visit places well outside the island."

"It might be too late when I'm older." She says, lips pursed into a pout. "Besides, I'm a Freecss, and we don't do things by halves. It's always been all or nothing. How do you think I've dealt with your training all these years?"

"That's a good point, I must admit. I still don't agree with you going, but your aunt has more or less given her approval, and you have a while yet before you have to leave."

"We're taking the exam in January. Gon just has to catch the Lord of the Lake before then."

There's another silence, though this one brief and taken up mostly by Doctor Vonne looking contemplative before she heaves another sigh, shoulders slumping slightly like she preparing to take on a great burden. "Well, since your brother will be busy until then, I'm sure I can keep you occupied as well. There are some things you can still learn that may be useful."

Mei brightens, rushes behind the desk to wrap her arms around the woman's waist. She breathes in the scent of honey and heady herbs, familiar and comforting throughout the years. "Thank you! I promise I'll pass and make you proud."

She'll make everyone who knows her proud, proud enough that her name will be whispered through the sea breeze and across the ocean waves with as much reverence as they whisper Ging's.

...

* * *

 _ **chapter 5**_

" _What's past is prologue. What's future is epilogue. This right here is maybe chapter four or five."_

 _~Welcome to Night Vale_

* * *

 **A/N:**

This chapter was supposed to be the end of what I dubbed "halcyon days" but I decided to not bog y'all down with all sorts of things going on so next chapter will be the segue into canon material I promise. There will be more canon characters in the chapter after next! Also this was supposed to have more Gon in it too but I was also like wanted some adult opinions since it's kinda fucked up that HxH world is run exclusively through violence which allows the premise of two 12 y/o to run around nearly killing themselves on a daily to happen and no one is 100% bothered by it. If there're any objections to it it's usually because they're weak and not necessarily because they're young. But we'll get into the nitty gritty of the world later on. It's fun to think about though.

I also wish I wrote more Kite hanging around the island more so you might see some side stories if I feel like it.

*leans a little closer to the mic* kurapika/oc is good but have you heard of kurapika/m!oc because i want to make this happen in the year of 2018 since I haven't seen that sort of content yet. Thanks for listening to my tedtalk.

I love love love hearing thoughts and seeing comments, so don't be afraid to drop in a review if you have the time and energy. I'd really appreciate it since those are a main part of my motivation for continuing stuff! Thanks for reading!


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